The Demon Prince
by Sovereign64
Summary: An alternate timeline after the Tenrou Island arc. Ten years ago, the Demon Prince Darren Leong destroyed his own homeland. Now, a decade later, he has return and he will need the help of Fairy Tail and many other allies to make up for his mistakes and save all of Earthland. FINALLY COMPLETE
1. Resurrection

**Sovereign: Here it is guys! This is my way to kick off year 2012. The first chapter of The Demon Prince. I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous because this is my first adventure story but I'll do my best with this one! I hope you guys enjoy!**

**Summary: 10 years ago, the Kingdom of Temza is destroyed by the Demon Prince, Darren Leong. Now, Darren has reawakened and he has a mission to do. Join Fairy Tail and rebuild Temza.**

**Pairings: OC X Judith (Tales of Vesperia), Natsu X Lucy, Gray X Juvia, Erza X Jellal**

**Main Characters: Darren Leong (OC), Judith (Tales of Vesperia), Carl Clover (BlazBlue), Estellise Sidos Heurassein (Tales of Vesperia), Yuri Lowell (Tales of Vesperia), Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet, Juvia Lockser, Mirajane, Wendy Marvell**

**_The Demon Prince_  
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_**Chapter 1: Resurrection**_

Many miles away from the Kingdom of Fiore, somewhere out in the ocean was a small island called Myorzo Island. Originally, it was an inhabited island. But now, it is the home of an ancient race known as the Krityans. The Krityans are humans with pointed ears like elves and they usually have blue hair and have two light blue headtails on the back of their heads. The Krityans used to live together with the humans in the mainland of Earthland, but ten years ago, a war broke out in their former homeland, the Kingdom of Temza. It was destroyed and annexed by its neighboring nation, the Kingdom of Alahorn. They were then driven out of their homeland and moved to this island to continue their civilization. They have become a minority race in Earthland and they are near extinction. The Krityans tried their best to keep their race and culture alive since the end of the war.

Somewhere on the island, was the village of Brades, the de facto capital of the island and the last remaining civilization of the Krityans. The village leader Judith, is sitting in her room, writing her journal while the other villagers were doing their daily stuff. The women are doing their chores while the children are playing outside. They are no men in the village as a year ago, all the adult male Krityans have left the island and went to the mainland to live together with the humans, hoping to make their race recognized as an official race in Earthland again.

These were the dark times of the Krityan race.

Judith is dressed in her usual clothing which consists of a short-sleeved neckshirt, a blue breastplate with golden outlines, a long blue and white skirt, white gloves and white boots. Her hair is tied to a bun. She closes her journal after she finished writing. She looks out the window and stares at the full moon shining up in the night sky.

Judith sighed and asked, "Spirit of the Moon, is there any hope for us? Have we Krityans been praying to you all these years for nothing? Will we ever thrive again like the old days?" She lowers her head and grimly recalls the events that happened during the war between Temza and Alahorn. She can still remember how the war began and how it end tragically.

Meanwhile, a villager named Vanessa walks out of her hut and called to all the children playing outside, "Alright kids! It's getting late. Go back to your homes and mothers!"

The children obey and stop playing. However, as they turn around and ready to go back to their homes, they heard walking. The children stop and turn around confused. The other villagers also heard it and step out of their houses.

"What?" Vanessa uttered in confusion. Who could be walking over to their village right now?

A Krityan enters Judith's room, causing her to turn her head.

"What is it?" Judith asked the Krityan.

"Jusith, there are people coming to our village." The Krityan said.

"Who are they?"

"They are a dark guild."

Judith widens her eyes.

The women embraced their children protectively as they watched the dark guild enter the village. That are six of them and one of them is holding a tattered flag with a logo on it which is a black sun with two swords crossed. Five of the guild's members all wear white samurai robes with their logo printed on their backs. Their leader is a man in his 50s with short gray hair and wears huge black samurai armor with golden spikes on his pauldrons and kneepads to distinguish himself from the others.

When the guild stop at the middle of the village, the leader spread out his arms and yelled, "People! We are the Black Suns and we have come to see your leader! If your leader refused to show himself, we shall burn down this village!"

The children whimper in fear while the women remained silent and glared at the guild fearlessly.

After a minute of silence, the leader narrows his eyes and lowers his arms. "So, he refuses to appear. Very well, then-"

"That is enough."

"Huh?" The leader and his guild widen their eyes in surprise as Judith walks over to them with her black spear. She stands in front of the leader and looks up at him.

"You are the leader of this village?" The leader asked Judith. Judith nods her head. This causes him to laugh. "Who would have thought the leader of this village is a woman." He looks around and noticed that there are no males in the village. "Where are the men?"

"They have all left a long time ago. But we women are equally as strong as them." Judith answered.

"So, have you come to fight me?" The leader asked her.

"What is your name first?"

The leader bowed his head. "My name is Kaname, leader of the Black Suns."

Judith nods her head and said, "Kaname, I do not wish to fight you and I want to know why have you and your guild come to our island."

"Ah yes." Kaname said, looking down at her. "I formed this guild a year ago but we are losing many members because some damn guild called Fairy Tail have kept destroying our buildings and bringing many of my defeated members to prison. But recently, I read about the legend of the Demon Prince at a local library."

"Did you say…the Demon Prince?" Judith asked.

"Why yes, according to legend, if I were to find the Krityan who is the most sacred to the Spirit of the Moon, she can help me reawaken the Demon Prince." Kaname smirked.

"Why do you want to reawaken the Demon Prince!" Judith demanded. "Haven't you heard? The Demon Prince was the person who destroyed our entire kingdom and drove us out of the mainland." As she said that, the villagers lower their heads in sadness. "Fortunately, the human Templars of our former kingdom were able to imprison him but he still managed to wipe out a majority of their forces before they did. If you release him, who knows what catastrophe he will bring to Earthland next."

"Of course I'm not going to make him destroy my own world; I'm going to make him my _servant_." Kaname smiled slyly.

"Servant?" Judith asked, arching an eyebrow. "How are you going to do that?"

"According to legend, he requires a sacrifice in order to have tolerance. If I sacrificed the Krityan who is the most sacred to the Spirit of the Moon to him, he shall obey me." Kaname said. "And once he becomes my servant, all the guilds including Fairy Tail shall fear us and we will become the most powerful dark guild in Earthland since Grimoire Heart!" He raises his fist into the air.

Judith snorted. "Your plan sounds both ridiculous and unbelievable. I'm sorry but as leader of the Krityan race, I cannot honor your request." She gestures them with her spear to the entrance of the village. "Please, you and your guild leave this island now and we will give you safe passage back to the mainland."

"Oh really? Then I guess you don't mind these two children at all." Kaname smiled evilly.

"Children?" Judith widens her eyes.

Then two of the guild's members, Hen Woo and Mori, brought out two children, a boy and a girl, who are both sobbing and wailing.

"Judith!" The girl cried.

"Please! Help us!" The boy added.

"My babies!" The mother of the two children, who is standing a few feet away from them, cried in horror.

"Please! Stop!" Judith begged Kaname. "Don't hurt them! They are just children!"

Kaname smirked, seeing weakness in Judith's eyes. "Unless you hand us the Krityan who is the most sacred to the Spirit of the Moon, Hen Woo here will kill them." Hen Woo nods his head as he and Mori tighten their grips around the children's arms.

"Please Judith, don't let them kill us!" The boy pleaded.

"It's me!" Judith yelled. "I'm the most sacred of the Spirit of the Moon. I am the last of the Krityan council who are chosen by the Moon herself. That's why I have the Moon's power." Tears now form in her eyes. "Now please, let them go."

Kaname nods his head. "Very well." He gestures Hen Woo and Mori to let the children go. They release their grips and the two children ran over to Judith and embraced her.

"Judith! We are so sorry!" The girl wailed.

"Penelope and I went out to the forest to collect mushrooms for the village but suddenly they appear and captured us!" The boy cried.

"It's okay Brandon, Penelope. At least you two are safe now." Judith said them softly as she embraced them. She then pulls away from the children and they run over to their mother and hug her as well.

Judith looks up at Kaname. He said, "Now then, are you ready to go with us?"

"Promise me that if I go with you. You will leave my people alone." Judith said.

Kaname smiled and bowed. "I am a man of my word." He said. "Now then, since you are the most sacred Krityan, then surely you know where the Demon Prince is buried right?"

"Only the Moon herself knows the location of his burial." Judith replied. "I have to ask her permission first."

"Is that so?"

Judith lowers her head for a moment, then looks up at the full moon. "Spirit of the Moon, will you ever forgive me?"

A few seconds later, Judith looks back at Kaname and his guild. "Let me guide you."

* * *

><p>The Black Suns followed Judith through the forest. Her wrists are tied up in magical cuffs made by the guild's sorcerer Ogashi so that she won't escape. Eventually they arrived at a huge cave. The entrance of the cave has two huge Templar statues, both a reminder of the human army who help imprison the Demon Prince during the war.<p>

"You know, I wonder. Why are the Krityans the ones who watch over the coffin of the Demon Prince even though it's the Templars who defeated him?" Hen Woo asked.

"A surviving Templar entrusted us to watch over the Demon Prince before we left the mainland because he knows we are a sacred race." Judith answered his question.

"Now that your question is answered, let's keep moving!" Kaname yelled before they all entered the cave.

As they walk down the cave, one of the guild's members named Piang looks extremely nervous.

"What's wrong Piang?" Mori asked him.

"Nothing. It's just that…what if the Krityan is right?" Piang said. This causes everyone to stop. Kaname turns to him looking annoyed. "If we unleash the Demon Prince then he-"

"Shall serve me. What's wrong with that?" Kaname asked angrily.

"But maybe the ritual will not work. He's the Demon Prince! There's no way some ritual will control him!" Piang cried. "I think we-"

Suddenly, before he could continue, Kaname raise up his gun and shot him through the forehead. Everyone, especially Judith widen their eyes in horror.

"Oh God…" Judith managed to utter as Piang slumps to the ground motionless.

"Whoever talks back at me shall be killed! How dare you let a great opportunity go to waste! Imagine all the power we can have if we have the Demon Prince by our side!" Kaname yelled at everyone at the top of his lungs. Everyone else remain silent. Kaname growled. "Keep moving!"

Judith closes her eyes and turns her head away before they all continue walking down the cave in complete silence.

Soon, they arrived at a huge wide open area. In front of them was a stairway and at the top of it was a golden coffin wrapped in metal chains. The coffin itself is placed on a huge magic circle which is still operating ever since it arrived onto this island a decade ago.

"You better be ready to face the consequences." Judith warned Kaname as she turns to him.

Kaname smirked. "I should be the one who is asking you that question. Ogashi." Ogashi rises up his hand and suddenly Judith looks up and gasped. Her eyes are turning black and her pupils disappeared. She closes her mouth and lowers down her head.

"You are now under my control and you shall be sacrificed." Ogashi said to her.

"Yes…" Judith said.

"Alright! Ogashi, Hen Woo, Mori, Ahn! Form the ritual circle!" Kaname ordered. Everyone nodded. They all summoned a huge magic circle on the floor while Judith walks over to the middle of the circle and stood still.

"Read out the ritual!" Kaname said to Ogashi. Ogashi nodded and looks at his scroll. Ogashi then reads out the summoning ritual while Judith kept a blank stare as she stood still at the middle of the circle. Kaname smiled widely as he listens to the ritual. _'So, I will be the most powerful Dark Guild master in all of Earthland!'_

When Ogashi is now at the middle of the ritual, the chains around the coffin start to glow brightly. This causes Ogashi to pause and he, Hen Woo, Mori and Ahn look up and drop their jaws in awe.

"What are you guys doing? Continue reading!" Kaname yelled angrily.

Ogashi nods his head and continues reading the scroll. As he continues reading, light starts to shine from inside the coffin. Finally, when he finished reading the ritual, the chains break and a grand pillar of red light bursts out from the coffin. The lid of the coffin rolls down the stairway and lands in front of Judith. However, that didn't startled Judith at all as she kept her blank expression.

Kaname and his guild members cover their eyes with their arms as the light shines brightly. When the light starts to fade, a gigantic red-skinned demon with golden eyes and golden horns emerged from the coffin. Ogashi, Hen Woo, Mori and Ahn were astounded at the sight of the demon while Kaname laughed evilly.

"Yes! At last! We finally meet! The Demon Prince!" Kaname yelled to the demon.

"You! Why have you summoned me!" The Demon Prince roared at Kaname as he placed his hands on his coffin.

While the other guild members step back in fear, Kaname walked forward and spread out his arms. "Demon Prince! I have summoned me to become my servant! Join me and we can rule this world together!"

Judith then walks up the stairway and stops at the middle. "Here is your sacrifice! Consume her and pledge your allegiance to me!" Kaname yelled.

The Demon Prince looks down at Judith for a moment before he brought his legs out of the coffin and walks down the stairway. As he walks down, the figure starts to shrink and transform into a normal human being. The Demon Prince is now a human dressed in a silver metal helm, black cape, silver metal gloves, black robes with a white cross symbol on the middle, metal dressing underneath it, brown belt and silver metal greaves. It is the same dressing that the Templars wore during the war that broke oue between Temza and Alahorn. The Prince stops in front of Judith and removes his helm, revealing he has black eyes and messy black hair.

The two stared at each other.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: What do you think guys? Read and review! And Happy 2012!**


	2. Freedom

**Sovereign: I would like to thank Fatherfail, Assault Godzilla, zeprincelini, sNoWaNgL, Wolf Girl Jaye and ShinimgStellar for reviewing! Thank you all for your reviews guys! They gave me lots of confidence to continue writing this story! :D**

_**Chapter 2: Freedom**_

Kaname laughed as he walks up the stairs. He stops when he's standing behind Judith. "Go ahead Prince. Have her power." He said.

"Master! Do you think it's really wise for you to be standing near him?" Ahn yelled to him.

Kaname turns around and yelled at his guild, "Of course it is! I'm about to become his master and I must introduce myself!"

The Demon Prince stares into Judith's eyes. He knows that she's being controlled. "Who are you?" He asked.

"I am your sacrifice." Judith said in a monotone voice. "I want you to kill me."

The Prince's eyes grew big and gasped. "No…I don't want to…" He said.

"But you must." Judith insisted. "You are after all the Prince of Demons." She held up her arms, wanting him to kill her. "You chose to walk the path of darkness and you will always kill and desire death as long as you live."

The Prince grits his teeth. His body starts to shake and covers his face with his hands in despair. "No…I never wanted this title. I never wanted to kill. And yet this is my fate. Am I really going to continue kill people, even when I'm reawakened? Buried as a villain…and reawaken as a villain?" Unaware to both Judith and Kaname, a tear starts to roll down his left cheek. "Why? Why did I mess up? Why did I choose this eternal fate? Why can't I do anything right?"

He quietly sobbed for a moment before he heard a calm voice.

"_Prince of Demons…"_

The Prince's eyes grew big as he heard the voice in his mind.

"Who…are you?" He asked. He slowly removes his hands, looks up and just stood there.

"_Judith…"_ The voice said inside Judith's mind as well. Judith looks up and both the Krityan and the Demon Prince stood in front of each other silently.

* * *

><p>Judith's eyes snap open. She looks around and sees that she's now floating through darkness. She couldn't see anything. She sees nothing.<p>

"Am I…in my mind?" Judith said.

"_Judith…"_

Judith gasped. "Who are you?" She asked the calm voice.

"_You should know me very well. I am the one you and your people worship. I am the one who gave you all guidance when night falls to your world."_

Judith's eyes widened in realization. "Spirit…of the Moon?"

"_Indeed."_ The voice replied. _"Now…come to me…follow the light…"_

Judith's eyes squinted and cover her sight with her arms as a trail of light shines upon her. She began floating towards the light.

Suddenly, everything became bright and the darkness was gone. Judith opens her eyes and gasps. She sees that she is now standing in front of what seems to be a huge crystal of lacrima. She walks closer and sees that the Demon Prince is trapped inside it with his wrists and ankles cuffed in chains.

Judith widens her eyes in fear. She's now standing in front of the man who destroyed her kingdom and almost her entire race.

"_Now Judith…"_ The voice of the Spirit of the Moon said. _"Free him…"_

"What?" Judith cried out as she looks up. "Why should I free him? He was the person who destroyed my kingdom! He was the one who almost destroyed my entire race and our religion! He must remain imprisoned! He will only continue to bring harm and destruction to humanity!" The yelling then ended with Judith breathing heavily in rage.

"_No Judith…he never meant this to happen…"_ The voice replied.

"What do you mean?" Judith said, calming down.

"_Even the most evil beings made mistakes…He misunderstood and accidentally chose the path of darkness…he lost his way…"_

Judith widens her eyes and looks back at the Demon Prince trapped inside the lacrima. The Demon Prince opens his eyes and looks up at her with eyes of sadness.

"Krityan…" The Prince uttered. "If I had the power to turn back time, I wish I never got this power and destroyed your…" He closes his eyes. "No…_our _kingdom…the decisions I made in the past led me to this fate. I've completely lost my foresight."

"_You may not have the power to turn back time…but you still have the power to redeem yourself…"_ The Spirit of the Moon said to him.

"What?" He opens his eyes and looks up.

Judith looks up as well as the voice now said to her, _"And you Judith…you may not have the power to bring back the lives of the Krityans who died during the war…but you still have the power to avenge them."_

"Spirit…" She uttered.

The voice now said to both of them, _"The Demon Prince wants redemption for his sins while the Krityan wants justice to her and her people. If both the being of darkness and the being of light work together, they can create a new world. A world of peace and righteousness."_

Judith softens her eyes. "Yes…you are right, Spirit of the Moon."

The Prince lowers his head and closes his eyes. "Then please Spirit, give me another chance. A chance to make up for my sins."

Judith looks down at the Demon Prince and places her hand on the lacrima. The Prince looks up at her. "Then free you…I shall." She said. With that, a huge crack starts to appear on the spot where Judith placed her hand at. The lacrima then breaks into pieces and the Prince grunts as he falls to the ground. The Prince then slowly gets up from the ground and stood up.

"_Now go, the two of them. Go back to your world and work together…"_ The Spirit said.

"Yes…" The Prince said as he reaches out his hand.

"Yes…" Judith smiled as she takes his hand.

"Yes!" The two said in unison as they close their eyes and everything around them became bright.

* * *

><p>Judith moaned as she slowly opens her eyes. She looks up and sees that the Demon Prince and looking up with eyes of determination and his right arm is wrapped around her.<p>

Judith gasps and said, "Prin-" She is immediately cut off when the Prince snuggles her closer.

The Prince looks down at her and smiled. Something he hadn't done for a long time. "Thank you Krityan. And good job." He said calmly.

Judith blushed and nods her head. She sighs as the Prince snuggles her protectively. Kaname turns his head back to them and smirked, thinking that the Demon Prince is ready to eat his sacrifice.

"No…" He said as he turns back to them and spreads his arms out. "Eat this sacrifice and serve me eternally!"

Suddenly, blood splattered on the stairs. Judith shuts her eyes tightly and buries her head into the Prince's chest as she heard the sound of something stabbing through human flesh. A while later, she looks up and gasps as she sees the Prince's left demonic arm stabbed through Kaname's chest and out from his back. Kaname gasped for air and widens his eyes in horror.

"**You…"** The Prince said in a distorted voice. His eyes are now gold as well. **"You are no Dark Guild master. You are a just a fool. A mindless fool who fails to understand the true meaning of evil." **His eyes narrowed. **"You will **_**never **_**be my master."**

The Prince then removes his arm and blood pours down from his chest. Kaname looks down at the huge hole through his chest in horror. He then coughs out huge amounts of blood from his mouth. He slowly turns around and yells in extreme pain and horror as he fell and roll down the stairway. He then lands at the bottom and lies dead.

Ogashi, Hen Woo, Mori and Ahn all gasp in horror and back away as they stare at their dead master.

"M-m-monster!" Hen Woo cried out.

"Let's get out of here!" Mori yelled to the others. They all turn around and run their way out.

"It's over! We are doomed!" Ahn yelled in horror.

"The Demon Prince has risen again! The end of humanity is nigh!" Ogashi added.

Judith watched as the Prince's demonic arm and eyes turn back to normal. The Prince lowers his head in sadness, hurt by the guild members' words.

"Prince?" Judith asked in concern.

The Prince closes his eyes. "They're right. I'm a monster." He said sadly. Judith cups his chin with her hand and turns his head to her. The Prince opens his eyes. "Judith?"

"I'm not afraid of you." Judith said to him calmly. The Prince softens his eyes as he places his left hand on her hand.

He gently lowers Judith's hand and asked her, "What is your name, Krityan?"

"Judith." She replied with a nod.

The Prince kneels down on one knee and bowed to her in respect. "Judith, from this day forward, you are officially my master. I shall protect you and obey your every command as your loyal servant."

Judith smiled and said, "Rise, Demon Prince."

The Prince stood up and smiled at her. "Thank you, Judith. And my name…is Darren Leong."

"Darren." Judith smiled and closes her eyes. "I like that name."

The two then widen their eyes in confusion when they heard footsteps. They turn their heads and see several skeletons dressed in helmets and armor slowly walking over to them with swords, shields, spears, flails, and maces.

"Who are they?" Judith asked.

"The skeletons of the fallen Alahorn knights that I have slain during the war ten years ago. They must have reawakened as well during the ritual the Dark Guild made. And it looks like they are coming for me." Darren replied.

"What should we do?"

Darren smirked as draws out his katana with his right hand. "If it's a rematch they want, I shall give it to them." He then reaches into his pocket with his left hand and took out a pair of glasses. Judith blushed as he puts them on.

"You…wear glasses?" Judith asked.

"Yeah." Darren said as he turns to her and noticed the blush on her face. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing…" She chuckled. "It's just…well…" She played with her fingers, completely unsure how to reply.

"Never mind that. Can you fight?" Darren asked.

Judith shook her head to remove her though out of her mind. She looks back at him and nods her head with a smirk. "We female Krityans are good spearwomen. She then draws out her black metal spear, ready to fight as well.

"Then come on." Darren and Judith turn to the army of skeletons. "Just fight our way out of here." The two then run down the stairway with their weapons and charge towards them.

Darren kept swinging his katana at the skeletons, mostly taking out several soldiers with one swing. Judith mostly uses her spear to behead the skulls of the skeleton soldiers.

Darren swings his katana vertically at one skeleton, splitting him in half. He turns his eyes and sees a huge skeleton dressed in massive armor and a huge helmet and armed with a war hammer walking over to him. Before the skeleton could bring down his hammer, Darren swings his katana horizontally across his neck, beheading him and the skeleton fall to the ground in pieces.

Judith looks around and sees she's being surrounded by several skeletons armed in swords and flails. Judith then holds up her spear in the air and twirls it around, causing a huge circular wave of air that sends all the surrounding skeletons into the air. They smash into the walls and fall to the ground in pieces.

A skeleton swings his flail horizontally at Darren. Darren ducks down, then swings his sword vertically at the skeleton, slicing off his arm. He then uses the hilt of his katana to knock his skull off. The skeleton then falls to the ground motionlessly.

Judith stabs a skeleton through his ribcage and lifts him up in the air. She turns to Darren and said, "Good job you're doing so far."

"Thanks. You too." Darren smiled as he swings his katana horizontally at a skeleton, slicing him into half.

Judith nods her head before she swings her spear and sends the skeleton flying through the air and collided into two other skeletons and they all dismantled into several pieces.

"Let's keep moving!" Darren said as he takes out the last remaining skeleton in the room. Judith nods and they both run out of the room and through the hallway.

Suddenly, they both heard loud galloping through the hallway, causing them to stop. "Galloping?" Judith said.

Darren narrows his eyes. "He's here." The source of the galloping then arrived in front of them. It was a skeleton dressed in a dragon style helmet, heavy silver armor, huge shoulderpads and strong silver greaves. He's mounted on a skeleton horse and he's wielding a claymore and a sword with the Alahorn emblem on it.

"I have come for you, Darren Leong!" The skeleton yelled.

"Why, if it isn't General de Bilde, leader of the first battalion of the Alahorn cavalry unit." Darren smiled.

"That's right! You humiliated me on the battlefield a decade ago. And now, I shall have my revenge!" De Bilde yelled angrily.

"You never learn, do you?" Darren shook his head before he gets into a battle stance.

De Bilde yelled and rises up his sword as his undead horse neighs loudly and stood on two feet. His horse then falls back on all four and gallops towards Darren.

De Bilde yelled as he points his claymore directly at him.

Darren closes his eyes and lowers his head. Judith watched as he does so.

"What is he doing?" She asked herself.

"It's over!" De Bilde shouted as he reaches Darren. Darren then snaps his eyes open and slashes his katana horizontally in a split second as De Bilde and his horse pass by him.

He and his horse then stop behind him while Darren sheathes his katana.

"I lost…" De Bilde said as he and his horse starts to dismantle. "Again…" He finished as his jaw and skull fell to the ground.

Darren stood up and said, "Charging towards me without any thought at all. That is why you failed, General. Ten years ago and ten years later."

He then takes Judith's hand and they both continue running down the hallway. Eventually, they see light on the other side.

Darren turns to Judith and smiled. "Come Judith, let's get out of here." He said.

Judith smiled back at him. "Of course." She said.

With that, they both step out of the cave and into the light.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: I must say I enjoyed writing this chapter. Darren and Judith have escaped, now what happens? Stay tune and read and review!**

**Oh and if you are wondering how Darren sounds like, he's voiced by Brad Swaile, the voice of Light Yagami in Death Note and Setsuna F. Seiei in Mobile Suit Gundam 00.**


	3. The Adventure Begins

__**Sovereignm: I would like to thank Assault Godzilla, zeprincelini, Fatherfail, splitheart1120, sNoWaNgL, ShingStellar and Wolf Girl Jaye for reviewing! :D**

_**Chapter 3: The Adventure Begins**_

As the sun rises, everyone back at the village look sad and depressed over the absence of their leader Judith.

"It…It's all our fault. I-If we haven't decided t-to leave the village. T-this wouldn't have happened…" Penelope whimpered as she and Brandon sobbed onto their mother's chest.

"It's alright…" Their mother said softly to them as she tightened her hug.

As the villagers sadly sat around the village, one child widen his eyes and yelled as he points straight at the entrance. "Who is that?" He yelled. Everybody in the village open their eyes, lift their heads up and turn to the entrance.

At the entrance were Judith and Darren entering the village.

Darren stops at the entrance while Judith walks forward. She smiled at everyone and said, "Sorry that I made you guys worried."

The villagers perked up, got up and run over to her.

"Judith!" The villagers cried happily as they all gathered around her.

"You're back!" One girl said in joy.

"We are so worried! Are you hurt?" One elderly woman asked in concern.

"It's alright, I'm totally fine." Judith assured her.

"Judith!" Brandon cried as he and Penelop run over to Judtih and embraced her. "We're so sorry! We didn't-"

Judtih smiled warmly as she embraces them back. "It's okay. I know you guys didn't mean it. You don't have to apologize at all."

As Judith lets go of them, Penelope and Brandon smiled at her as they wipe off their tears. "It's good to have you back, Judith." Penelope said.

Judith then turns her head to Darren. She smiled at him as she extends her hand. "Come on in Darren. You don't have to be shy."

The villagers stared at Darren in confusion. "Who is he?" One woman asked.

"His name is Darren Leong. He is the one who saved me from the dark guild." Judith answered to all the villagers.

Immediately all the adult villagers smile widely as they all run over to Darren and grab his arms.

"Wha-what's going on?" Darren asked.

"Thank you for saving our leader!" One woman said to him.

"You're a hero!" Another one said.

"You look very handsome!"

"How did you fight off those badguys?"

"Come on in! We should give you a hero's welcome!"

Darren laughed nervously as the women drag him into the village. Judith chuckled in amusement as she watched.

* * *

><p>Darren is now sitting in a hut where the women have placed plates of various fruits and cups of various fruit juices in front of him.<p>

"Here! Have some apples!" A woman said as she holds up an apple in front of Darren.

"Um, sure." Darren said before he takes a bite of her apple.

"Sir…can you have my watermelon?" A woman blushed as she holds up a slice of watermelon.

"Of course." Darren nods his head before he takes the slice and eats it.

"Can you try our lemonade?" Another woman asked as she holds up a cup of lemonade in front of him.

"Yeah…" Darren puts the straw in his mouth and takes a sip. He looks up as Judith enters the hut.

"Having fun, everyone?" Judith asked the women.

"Yes!" The women replied happily.

"They are all treating me very nicely." Darren asked as Judith walks over to him.

"Mainly because they haven't seen an adult male for a long time." Judith shrugs before she sits next to him.

"Aren't there any adult males in your village?" He asked before he takes a peach from a woman.

"They left a long time ago. Trying to aid the humans in the mainland in order to save the recognition of our race." Judith replied.

"Yeah…" Darren lowers his head.

* * *

><p>"Come on Darren! Play some football with us!" A boy said as he threw a ball to him.<p>

Darren yelped as the ball flies over to him. He quickly uses his chest to stop the ball, then uses his legs to gently kick the ball into the air several times. The children watched in amusement.

"Amazing…" One of the boys said.

* * *

><p>As the sun sets, it is time for the villagers to prepare dinner. Darren is now in a kitchen and watched an elderly woman pounding rice in a huge stone bowl with a huge block of wood.<p>

When the woman finished, she wipes off the sweat on her forehead and said to Darren, "Now, you try."

Darren grabs his own block of wood and prepares to pound his rice. Unfortunately, he uses too much energy and pounds his rice too hard, sending rice all over their faces and the floor. Darren lowers his head in shame while the elderly woman laughed.

* * *

><p>Brandon and Penelope watched as Darren uses two pieces of flint to make sparks of fire. When the sparks land on the pieces of sticks, it creates fire. Brandon and Penelope smile as they and Darren quickly place several more pieces of wood to make the fire bigger.<p>

"We finally have fire." Darren smiled.

After the fire was made, Darren, Judith and the villagers gathered around the campfire and ate their dinner throughout the rest of the night.

"Enjoying yourself?" Judith asked Darren who is eating his rice and egg.

Darren swallows his food and said to Judith, "Yeah. I miss eating eggs. Haven't eaten them since I was buried."

Darren, Judith, the children and the elderly then look up as they watched the women danced to entertain them and welcome Darren to their village.

Darren smiled as he watched the performance. However, deep down in his heart, he still felt guilt and regret.

* * *

><p>Later that night, all the villagers have went to sleep, except for Darren who is sitting outside of Judith's hut staring at the moon and stars.<p>

"Couldn't sleep?" Judith asked as she walks over to him.

"Yeah." Darren replied. Judith sits next to him.

"I guess you are not evil after all." Judith said.

Darren sighed. "I was never evil. And I never wanted to be the Demon Prince." The two stared at the night sky silently for a few seconds. Darren then spoke up again, "I can't believe ten years have passed."

"Yes. Ten years since Temza has fallen." Judith said sadly.

"All because of me." Darren lowers his head sadly. Judith turns to him and places a hand on his back to comfort him.

"It's okay Darren. Remember what the Spirit said. You must find a way to redeem yourself." She said.

"Judith…" Darren said as he lifts his head up. "I wish to go to the mainland. I want to know how much Earthland has changed over the decade. I want to know how much the war has changed the world."

Judith smiled and nods her head. "I'll come with you."

Darren turns his head to her and smiled. "Thank you." He said.

* * *

><p>When morning came, the villagers waved goodbye and bid farewell to Darren and Judith who are both standing at the entrance, carrying their bags of supplies.<p>

"Goodbye guys!" One girl yelled.

"We'll miss you!" One woman said.

"Please be safe!" Another woman cried.

"Darren! Please take good care of Judith!" Brandon said.

"I will!" Darren replied. He and Judith smile at each other before turning around and leave the village together.

And so, their adventure officially begins…

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, somewhere in Earthland is the Magic Council Headquarters. Ever since the old Magic Council was destroyed by Jellal and Ultear seven years ago, the new Magic Council is now stricter and harsher than ever. The kingdoms in Earthland are now under strict laws by the Magic Council and they will not rest until every Dark Guild is removed from the world.<p>

Lahar, head of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit of the Rune Knights, an army of the council, enters the meeting room and bowed down before the members of the council.

"Lahar, reporting to the council." Lahar said to the council, placing a hand on his chest.

"At ease. What news do you have for us?" Guran Doma asked Lahar from his seat. Guran is the Chairman of the Magic Council and the one responsible for the strict rules across Earthland.

Lahar stood up straight. "Chairman Doma, last night, my unit and I have arrested the four remaining members of the Black Suns. As we captured them, one of the members told us that…" Lahar took a deep breath. He knows that breaking the news to the council will not be easy and comfortable. "They have resurrected the Demon Prince."

Immediately, Guran and the members of the council gasped in horror.

"The Demon Prince?" One of the council members said.

"No…it can't be!" The only female member of the council said in horror.

"Silence!" Guran yelled. He rose up from his seat and slams his staff on the floor. "If this is true, then the Demon Prince must be destroyed. Ten years ago, the Demon Prince destroyed an entire kingdom and endangered the human race. Now that he is resurrected, who knows what catastrophe he will bring next?"

"I say we inform every kingdom and guild in Earthland to hunt down the Demon Prince. That being of evil must not roam around this world!" A member suggested.

"It will not be easy. After all, he is the person who has the power to destroy an entire kingdom." Another member said.

"But he has to be taken down no matter what!" Guran yelled. "He is now the newest matter we have to deal with besides the Dark Guilds. The Demon Prince is worse than Dark Magic itself. We humanity must do whatever it takes to take him down."

The other members of the council nod their heads.

"Whoever agrees to destroy the Demon Prince, say aye." Guran said to the council.

"Aye!" All the members said in unison as they raise their hands.

"Good." Guran nods his head. "It is decided. The Demon Prince must be destroyed. He must not be kept alive. We shall inform every kingdom and guild to be on a look out for him and we shall send our own army to hunt him down as well." Guran looks down at Lahar. "Lahar, prepare the Rune Knights to patrol every kingdom of Earthland."

"Yes sir!" Lahar yelled before turning around and leave.

Guran narrows his eyes. "Killing the Demon Prince is for the best of all of Earthland."

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: The adventure officially begins! But so does the hunt for the Demon Prince...Stay tuned and read and review! And the Fairy Tail cast will _finally _appear in the next chapter. ;)**


	4. A New Mission

**Sovereign: I would like to thank zeprincelini, Wolf Girl Jaye, Assault Godzilla, sNoWaNgL, ShiningStellar and splitheart1120 for reviewing!**

_**Chapter 4: A New Mission**_

"Ohayo minna!" Lucy greeted as she walks into the guild with a big smile.

"Ohayo Lucy!" Mirajane greeted nicely at the bar. Lucy walks over to the bar and sit down. "What would you like today Lucy?"

"How about some soda?" Lucy said to her.

"Sure! Just a minute!" Mirajane said before turning away.

Lucy then turns her head and smiled as she watches the guild doing their usual chatting and stuff. Gray is drinking something cold, Levy is reading her book with Gajeel sitting next to her, Wendy and Romeo are chatting, Freed, Evergreen and Bickslow are sitting together and having drinks and the other guild members are chatting and laughing. It's been some time since they have returned from Tenrou Island and things are going back to normal. The guild continues to work hard every day, trying to get back their title as the number one guild in Fiore. But Lucy doesn't mind if Fairy Tail isn't the number one guild anymore. All it matters that the guild is together again, everyone is having a great time and she still has all of her friends. She has also gotten over her depression over her father's death but she still thinks about him and her mother every day.

"Hello Lucy-san!" Juvia smiled as she walks over.

"Oh hi Juvia." Lucy smiled at her. The relationship between Lucy and Juvia has improved over time, though Juvia still sees Lucy as her 'love rival'.

Juvia sat next to her and said, "How are you today?"

"Yeah, fine." Lucy replied.

"Ohayo everybody!" Natsu, the pink-haired Fire Dragon Slayer greeted as he enters the guild.

"Ohayo!" Lucy greeted him. Everybody else in the guild greeted him as well.

"Hey Lisanna, how are you?" Natsu smiled at Lisanna who is sitting alone at one of the tables.

"Fine." Lisanna smiled back and nods her head. Lucy then quietly turned her head away as Natsu walks over to Lisanna, sits next to her and they both have a conversation. Juvia looks concerned as she sees the frown on Lucy's face.

"Still thinking of them?" Juvia asked Lucy.

"Yeah…" Lucy sighed sadly. It's been a week since Natsu told Lucy that he's now officially dating Lisanna. Lucy, being his close friend, congratulates Natsu for his new relationship with her. However now, Lucy always feels hurt whenever she sees Natsu and Lisanna together and she couldn't understand why. Why does her heart hurts whenever she sees the two together? Why does she kept thinking of Natsu ever since?

Lucy shook her head. No. She must feel happy that Natsu and Lisanna are now together. After all, Lisanna has always been Natsu's childhood friend and it was her who was the first to confess her love to him.

"Here you go!" Mirajane said as she placed a cup of soda in front of Lucy. Lucy jumped a bit, then lowers her head.

"Oh thanks." Lucy said glumly.

"Why are you now looking upset, Lucy?" Mirajane asked.

Lucy shook her head and gave a fake smile. "Oh nothing Mira-san."

"Hello Lucy-san! Juvia-san!" A 12-year old blue-haired girl greeted cheerfully as she walks over to Lucy and Juvia.

"Hello Wendy." Juvia smiled at her.

"Hey Wendy." Lucy said.

"Hey Lucy, want to go on a mission? It's almost time for you to pay your rent again right?" Wendy asked.

Lucy sighed heavily. "Yeah, and this time it's over 6 thousand. I'll never go shopping again if my rent keeps increasing."

"It's okay Lucy. You can always borrow some gold from me after you paid your rent." Erza said as she walks over.

"Ohayo Erza!" Mirajane smiled at her.

"Hey Erza-san." Lucy greeted.

"Hello Erza!" Wendy said as she bowed her head.

"Lucy, what's with the sad face?" Erza asked. Lucy remained silent as she places her arms on the table and rests her head.

"I don't know." She said.

"It's about Natsu and my sister, isn't it?" Mirajane asked as she places her hands on her hips.

"Kind of. I don't know why every time I see them together, I…I don't know."

"Actually Lucy, I do find it a shame that you and Natsu didn't end up together. Before my sister return to this guild, all of us thought Natsu was going to end up with you." Mirajane said and gave a slight chuckle.

"Really?" Lucy asked as she lifts up her head. Her eyes have also widened up.

"Yeah." Erza said as she folds her arms. "Everyone said that you really are like Lisanna and you would become Natsu's newest close friend since her supposed death."

"Thanks guys." Lucy smiled a bit.

"Lucy-san…do you really like Natsu?" Wendy asked.

"Well yeah. Kind of. But in the end…" Lucy lowers her head and sighed. "He got together with Lisanna."

"Come on Lucy! Cheer up! I'm sure you will find someone else!" Mirajane smiled.

"But not my Gray-sama!" Juvia said darkly.

"I know…" Lucy said sadly.

Her sad tone causes Juvia to soften down. "Oh…sorry Lucy." Juvia said softly.

"Hey guys, what are you talking about?" Gray asked as he walks over to the girls.

"Hey Gray." Erza greeted.

"Ohayo Gray-sama…" Juvia said to him dreamily.

"She liiiiikes him…" Happy said to Juvia, noticing her blush on her face. Juvia glares at the exceed and slaps him hard, sending him flying through the building.

"Aren't you supposed to be fighting with Natsu like you two always do?" Mirajane giggled.

"No." Gray shook his head. "Ever since Natsu and Lisanna got together, we don't hang out that much anymore."

"I see…" Wendy said.

Suddenly, the guild doors open and everybody turn their heads to the entrance. At the entrance were two Rune Knights. Everybody went silent.

"Who are they?" Lisanna asked.

"It's the Rune Knights." Natsu said as his face darkened.

"It's those guys who took Jellal into prison seven years ago." Wendy said softly. Erza and Gray narrow their eyes at them while Lucy, Mirajane and Juvia remained silent and just stared at them.

The guild master Makarov walks over to the knights and asked sternly, "Can I help you two? Has my guild done anything wrong again?"

"No Master Makarov. Your guild has done nothing wrong." One of the knights spoke up. "We are just here to give you all a notification."

"And we have been passing them to every Guild on Earthland." The other Rune Knight said before he took out a notification paper and hands it to Makarov.

"Whichever guild is able to complete this mission shall be handsomely rewarded by the Magic Council." One of the knights said. Everybody in the guild widen their eyes.

"Really? That sounds awesome." Droy whispered to Jet.

"Yeah. Totally." Jet agreed.

"Is the reward fish?" Happy asked as he flies over. Charle, who was next to him, rolled her eyes.

"That is all." The other Rune Knight said before the two turn around and leave the guild.

As Makarov reads the paper, Levy spoke up. "What did it say Master?"

Makarov widens his eyes. He then rolls the notification and turns to his guild. "Members of Fairy Tail, the Demon Prince has returned." Everyone gasped.

"Demon who?" Lucy and Wendy both asked confused.

"The Demon Prince." Erza said solemnly to Lucy.

"Yeah I remember hearing about him when I was sixteen. I can't believe he destroyed an entire kingdom." Mirajane said.

"T-the…D-Demon Prince?" Juvia said who is looking extremely horrified to hear the news.

"Huh? Juvia, what's wrong?" Gray asked.

Juvia turns to Gray and said, "Oh, nothing wrong. Gray-sama." Juvia looks down at her hands on her thighs. She trembles as she curls her hands into fists. _'It can't be. It just can't…'_

"It seems this mission is extremely important since the Council has been giving this to every guild in the world." Makarov said to everyone.

"What should we do?" Freed asked Makarov.

"I say we go out and find him!" Elfman yelled as he stood up and shows his muscular biceps. "And once we do, we shall beat the crap out of him! LIKE MEN!"

"Haha! Right!" Natsu yelled in agreement as he stood up and raises up his fist.

"Aren't you guys forgetting that he's the Demon Prince? His power may be equivalent to a Dragon!" Lisanna pointed out.

"Not to mention, we all almost died while fighting Acnologia back at Tenrou Island." Lucy added. Everybody in the guild went silent for a moment.

"Tch." Natsu said as he lowers his arm and sits back down.

"Right." Elfman uttered as he sat down as well.

"What are you guys talking about?" Erza spoke up, causing everybody in the guild to turn to her. "We have always overcome every situation. We have stop Phantom Lord from disbanding us, stop the magic council from being destroyed, and have defeated both Oracion Seis and Grimoire Heart. Sure we almost died at Tenrou Island but we will not let that happen again. This time, we will not lose another battle. We are defeated once, and we will not repeat that again. I say we should go out there, find the Demon Prince, save Earthland once again and gain back our title as the number one guild in the world. We should do what we always do best. Save the world."

"I agree!" Mirajane smiled as she raises up her hand.

"Me too." Gray nods his head.

"So do I!" Lucy smiled and nods her head as well.

"Hell yeah!" Natsu yelled happily as he stood up and raises up his arms.

"Aye!" Happy said. The entire guild yelled in agreement as well.

Makaorv smiled at this display and said, "Alright then, we shall send our best mages to hunt down the Demon Prince."

"Team Natsu should definitely go!" Levy said.

"Agreed! Men!" Elfman yelled.

"Right. But we still need more good mages to join us because just me, Gray, Natsu, Lucy and Happy won't be enough." Erza said.

"I'll go!" Wendy said. Erza, Lucy, Juvia and Gray turn to her. "I may be small but I want to help Fairy Tail become number one again!"

"Of course you can come with us. We need somebody to heal us during battle after all." Lucy smiled.

"If Wendy is going, I'm going too." Charle said.

"Great!" Happy said.

"Juvia will go too." Juvia said, raising up her hand. Erza, Lucy and Gray widen their eyes.

"Juvia?" Gray asked.

"Juvia wish to help Fairy Tail hunt down the Demon Prince too. Besides, Juvia hasn't been to any missions for a while." Juvia said solemnly.

"Very well. Welcome aboard Juvia." Lucy said, grabbing Juvia's hand. Juvia smiled at her.

"I want to go too!" Mirajane said. "One S-Class mage going up against the Demon Prince isn't enough so you guys should need my help too!"

"Then it's good to have you with us Mira." Erza said. Mirajane smiled at her.

"Alright! Let's do this then!" Natsu yelled, now placing a foot on the table and raising his fist into the air.

"AYE!" The entire guild yelled.

* * *

><p>The next day, all the members of Fairy Tail stood outside the building, bidding their farewells to Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Mirajane, Juvia, Wendy, Happy and Charle.<p>

"Gajeel, take care of Levy while I'm gone." Lucy said to Gajeel.

"Gi hi, you can count on me watching over her." Gajeel smirked.

"Please be safe, Lucy!" Levy smiled, waving goodbye to her.

"I will!" Lucy replied.

"Natsu, please take care of my sister." Lisanna said to Natsu.

"I will." Natsu smiled at her. Lisanna planted a kiss on his cheek. Lucy sees this and turns her head away.

"Natsu! Be manly and protect my sister!" Elfman said to Natsu.

"Hell yeah I will!" Natsu replied.

"Don't be so worried you guys." Mirajane said to Lisanna and Elfman, chuckling. "I'll be fine, especially with Erza and Natsu."

"Alright the nine of you, find the Demon Prince and make Fairy Tail proud!" Makarov yelled at them.

"Aye!" Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Erza, Gray, Juvia, Mirajane, Wendy and Charle yelled back before they all turn around and head off.

Everybody yelled their goodbyes as they watch them leave.

When they are all out of sight, Levy asked, "So…who will serve us drinks now?"

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: I hope you all enjoy that! Read and review!**


	5. Getting Gold

**Sovereign: I would like to thank ShiningStellar, Assault Godzilla, misstory5120, zeprincelini, splitheart1120, sNoWaNgL, Wolf Girl Jaye and Emcronia for reviewing. Thanks guys!**

**Replies to anonymous reviews:**

**misstory5120: Good guess there. But keep reading to find out.**

_**Chapter 5: Getting Gold**_

_**Ten Years Ago**_

_Judith coughed as she walks through the streets of Kalafina, the capital city of Temza. The entire city is burning in flames and both humans and krityans scream in terror as they run through the burning city, looking for safety. She can hear screams of pain, agony and the crying of children, but she dared not look for the sources of the screams. Judith narrows her eyes as she walks. Her vision is almost blinded by the thick smoke. She is also sweating furiously due to the heat, but she doesn't care._

_She couldn't believe this is happening. The people of Kalafina never thought that today would be the day when the huge strong wall that surrounds and protect the capital city of Temza for generations has finally been penetrated._

_As Judith kept walking down the road, her vision starts to become clearer as the smoke around her is getting less thick. Eventually, she found herself standing in front of the Krityan Council building, now heavily damaged and burning in flames._

"_No!" She cried. She runs over to the building and enters it. She coughed again as she walks into the building foyer. The once beautiful paintings that were hang on the walls, the beautiful banners that were hang on the pillars and many artifacts belonging to the Krityan culture that are displayed around the foyer are now burning. She yelped as burning pieces of wood fell in front of her. She carefully steps away from them and kept walking her way up a small flight of stairs._

_The stairs led her to the meeting room. She widens her eyes and gasped as she sees her father being trapped by the debris at the entrance of the meeting room._

"_Father!" Judith cried in horror as she runs over to him._

_Judith's father looks up and uttered, "Ju…dith?"_

_Judith kneels down to him. "Where's the rest of the council?" She asked._

"_Dead." Her father replied._

"_Hold on! I'll get you out!" Judith yelled as she gets up and tries to push the debris away, but it's too big and heavy._

"_Judith, it's hopeless. Just leave me behind." Her father said in defeat._

"_No father! I wi-"_

"_Judith, my legs are stuck in the debris. I'm better off dead."_

"_No! Stop saying such things! I'll-"_

"_Listen to me! Kalafina is burning in flames and there's nothing you can do but escape! Take this." Her father then holds up the spear that he's holding in his hand the whole time. "You are the leader of our people now. Only you can keep our race alive now. The Krityan culture and people must live on!"_

"_Father…I…"_

"_Take it…"_

_Judith turns her head away and tries to fight back her tears. She hates herself for not being strong enough to save her father. But she knows her father is right. All she can do is escape. Eventually, she takes the spear from her father._

"_Now go…" Her father said to her._

_Judith bowed down to him before turning around and leave the building before it collapses._

"_I love you…my daughter…" Those are her father's last words before the ceiling above collapses onto him._

* * *

><p>"Judith?"<p>

Judith's eyes widened and turn to Darren, realizing that she has been dreaming. Both of them are currently in a forest somewhere in Fiore. Both of them arrived at the mainland about a day ago and they are now resting in the forest for the night. They hope to arrive in a town tomorrow where they can finally buy supplies and equipment for their journey. They have brought food and camping supplies along with them from the island but they still need other equipment and especially a map to help them on their journey to Temza. Darren and Judith are both sitting around a campfire which Darren set up and next to them were two tents.

"What were you thinking?" Darren asked Judith.

"Nothing much." Judith replied.

"But your eyes are teary." He pointed out. Judith then realized that there are tears in her eyes, and she wipes them off.

"Still, like I said, nothing much." She said to him.

"Alright. Never mind then." Darren said. "Want some sandwiches?" He holds up a basket filled with ham and egg sandwiches which he made by himself.

"Oh, that's nice. Thank you." Judith smiled as she takes one and takes a bite. "Taste good. I didn't know you can make food after all."

"Yeah. Someone special to me taught me how to make them." Darren said, lowering his head as the person whom he's talking about came to his mind.

"Darren…" Judith said. Darren looks up at her. "I got something for you. Be right back." She finished eating her sandwich before she enters her tent. A few seconds later, she comes out of the tent and holds up some clothes. "Ta-dah. I spent the whole afternoon sewing them."

Darren gets up and walks over to her. He sees that the clothes she made are a pair of blue jeans, a white sleeveless shirt and a black sleeveless jacket. On top of the jacket was a cross necklace.

Darren takes the clothes and asked Judith, "What's with the necklace?"

"The cross symbolizes God. The being that creates all life on Earthland. I want you to hold it up and you will swear that you will never commit another sin again." Judith said solemnly.

Darren widens his eyes, and then sighed. "Yes master."

"Do it."

Darren holds up the necklace and said to the cross, "God, I swear I will never commit another sin again. I will never walk down the path of evil. And I will make this a better world. This…I swear."

* * *

><p>The next day, Darren, now dressed in his new clothes, and Judith walk out of the forest and they both smile as they see a town a few miles away from them.<p>

"This is great! We have finally arrived!" Darren said.

"C'mon! Let's go!" Judith said and they both run over the town.

* * *

><p>Both Darren and Judith walk through the town. It was filled with Victorian-style houses and buildings and the townspeople are walking around the town doing their daily routines. There are also many shops and stalls.<p>

Darren and Judith found a supplies shop and they both enter it. Half an hour later, they leave the shop after Darren bought himself some protective gloves, kneepads, boots and a scabbard for himself and Judith bought some food, ingredients, medical potions and more camping supplies.

"So Judith, do we have everything?" Darren asked the Krityan.

"Almost. Unfortunately, the store doesn't sell any maps, which is a shame because we need one to help us get to Temza." Judith said to him. She looks into her pouch and sees that they only have three gold coins left.

Judith let out a sigh. "And we only have three gold coins left. If we don't get any more money soon, we won't survive for another week." She said.

Darren looks around and sees a few people gathering around a message board. "What's over there?" He asked. The two walk over to the message board and sees some mission papers.

"So, you two are looking for a mission?" One man asked Darren and Judith. "If you guys find a mission that interests you, take it and show it to the mayor at his office. If you successfully complete a mission, you can earn thousands of gold or any reward you want."

"Sounds good to me." Darren said. He turns to the message board and sees that at the middle was a mission paper that says_ 'Wanted: Human Assassin hiding in the Forest. Dead or Alive. Reward: 1 million gold and a world map.' _

"Judith, look. The reward is 10 million gold and a map!" Darren said to her while pointing at the paper.

"Great! But are you prepare for this?" She asked.

"Come on Judith. We can't let this opportunity go to waste."

"Alright. Whatever." Judith shrugs. Darren then grabs the paper but suddenly, he sees another hand grabbing the paper as well.

Darren turns his head and sees that the hand belongs to a small child. He was a 12-year old boy with blonde hair and wears glasses, a purple top hat, a purple cape, white shirt, white gloves, purple shorts and purple boots.

"Hey!" The boy snapped. "I found this mission first!"

"Sorry kid but aren't you a little too young to do a dangerous mission like this?" Darren asked.

**"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME! I'M A WIZARD, NOT A CHILD!"** The boy shouted, causing Judith and the other people to shudder and inch away.

"Carl, that's enough!" An 18-year old girl scolded as she walks over to him from behind. The girl has pink shoulder-length hair and dressed in a white dress with gold outlines, white gloves and white shoes.

"What? But Estelle!" The boy, now known as Carl, turns his head to her.

"You shouldn't raise your voice like that in public." Estelle said, folding her arms.

Carl sighed in defeat as his grip on the paper loosens and Darren takes it from him.

"Hi there." The girl greeted to Darren with a sweet smile while Carl turns his head away angrily. "I apologize for his behavior. Anyways, my name is Estellise Sidos Heurassein."

"Estell-what?" Darren said, dumbfounded by her long complicated name."

Estelle laughed. "Or just Estelle."

"Right. Estelle." Darren nods his head.

"And this boy here is Carl Clover, my bodyguard." Estelle said, introducing Carl to him.

"Bodyguard?" Judith asked, walking over to the three.

"Yup, that's right." Carl said, now calming down from his anger.

"Oh hey, you have pointy ears. Are you a Krityan?" Estelle asked Judith.

"Um yeah, that's right." Judith said, nodding her head.

Estelle squealed in excitement as she clasps her hands together. "That's really cool! I read about your race but I never get to meet one up close in person until now!" She said.

"That's really nice. Thanks." Judith smiled.

"Anyways, what are your names?" Estelle asked.

"Darren Leong." Darren replied.

"Judith." Judith said to Estelle.

"Nice to meet you Darren and Judith." Estelle said.

"Estelle, are we going to do a mission or what?" Carl asked Estelle.

"Oh yes, true." Estelle chuckled.

"We already found ourselves a mission." Darren said to them.

"And the reward is a map, which is what we need to get to Temza." Judith added.

Estelle and Carl both widen their eyes. "You guys are heading to Temza too?" Estelle asked.

"But we too need a map to get to Temza!" Carl yelled at them.

"Maybe we can make ourselves a deal. How about you guys come along with us and maybe we can all get ourselves a map." Darren said. "Sounds fair?"

"You want us to join you?" Carl said, sounding interested.

"Sounds great! It's nice to have some people accompanying us on our journey." Estelle smiled, liking the idea.

"Great, let's go to the mayor's office." Judith said.

* * *

><p>Darren, Judith, Estelle, Carl and the town's mayor are now sitting together in the living room of the mayor's office. The town's minister of trade then arrived while carrying a tray with six cups of tea.<p>

"Thank you so much for accepting this mission to track down this assassin." The mayor said as the minister places the tray on the table.

"No problem sir." Judith said.

"Thank you ma'am." Estelle said as the minister of trade gave each of them a cup.

"Mayor, can you tell us more about this mission?" Estelle asked.

"Ah yes." The mayor said as the minister sits next to the mayor. "You see, outside our town is a path that leads to a huge forest which is located between our town and a huge city on the other side. For years, that city would deliver us food, water and other supplies by sending their merchants to go through the forest and bring it to our town. Unfortunately, about a month ago, they stop sending their merchants to our town."

"Why is that?" Carl asked.

"Because the city reported to us that many of their merchants went missing or killed in the forest." The minister of trade spoke up. "Since then, many people feared in entering the forest and we never get any more aid since. About a week ago, one of our citizens managed to escape the forest alive and told us that there was an assassin hiding in the forest. We believe that assassin he's talking about is the cause of the deaths and disappearances of the city's merchants."

"You guys must help us get rid of that assassin. If not, all of my people will die from starvation if we don't get any more imports from the outside world." The mayor added and he and the minister lower their heads sadly.

Darren, Judith, Estelle and Carl look at each other with serious looks. They all nod their heads before turning to the mayor and minister. "Don't worry mayor, minister. We will help you find this assassin." Darren said to him. Both the mayor and the minister then look up and smiled.

"Thank you very much." The minister said.

"As the paper says, if you are able to complete the mission, I shall reward you 1 million gold and a map of the entire Earthland." The mayor said.

"You can count on us!" Estelle smiled.

"Yeah, we will teach that assassin a lesson!" Carl smirked as he raises his fist, full of determination.

"So, how does this assassin look like and what's his name?" Darren asked.

"According to the survivor, the assassin has blue hair and a red tattoo down his left eye." The mayor said solemnly. "We believe he is the infamous…Jellal Fernandes."

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: DUN DUN DUNNN! Did that shock you? Is Jellal being evil again? Stay tune and read and review!**


	6. Finding Jellal

**_S_overeign: I would like to thank zeprincelini, Assault Godzilla, Wolf Girl Jaye, misstory5120, ShiningStellar, and splitheart1120 for reviewing. Thanks guys! And I'm glad the last chapter shock a lot of you. :D**

**Replies to anonymous reviews:**

**Misstory5120 - You'll find out why he's doing this in this chapter.**

_**Chapter 6: Finding Jellal**_

Darren, Judith, Carl, Estelle, the mayor and the minister arrived at the forest.

"Until you guys get rid of the assassin, we'll be waiting right here." The mayor said to the four.

"Right." Judith said as she, Darren, Carl and Estelle nodded.

"Let's go everyone." Darren said before they all enter the forest while the mayor and the minister both wait at the entrance.

The four walk through the forest and look around. The forest is filled with tall trees with thick trunks. Some of the trees grow fruit while others are weeping willows. At the bottom were several bushes with wild flowers and berries. Butterflies are flying over the bushes and they also spotted a few creatures crawling in the bushes.

"Eek!" Estelle squealed and lifts her leg up as a raccoon runs across the pavement they are walking on. When the raccoon is out of sight, she sighed in relief and places her leg down. "It's just a raccoon."

"Can't believe you got frightened over that." Darren laughed.

"Hmph." Estelle snorted as she folds her arms in annoyance. "I'm not used to walking through swamps and forests, okay?"

"Hey guys! What are you waiting for?" Carl yelled as he waved his hand to the both of them and Judith. He is already twelve feet ahead of them.

"Coming!" Estelle called out to him.

As Darren, Judith and Estelle rushes over to him, Darren said to Estelle, "Your bodyguard is very headstrong, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is." Estelle said and they stop when they caught up with Carl. Carl then points straight and they all see a wooden bridge built over a huge river.

When they approached to the bridge, they all see a man at the other side running over to them.

"Help! Help me!" The man yelled to them. When he stops in front of the four, he places his hands on his knees, lowers his head and tries to catch his breath.

"What's wrong sir?" Judith asked in concern.

The man looks up. "He's here! The assassin. He has been killing all of us at random!"

"Does he happen to have blue hair and have a red tattoo?" Carl asked.

"Yes! Who are you guys?" The man asked the four.

"We are here to hunt down that assassin." Darren answered as he folds his arms.

"Ah yes, that's good to hear. Finally, some people from the outside that are brave enough to take down that assassin. My name is Reyes and I'm part of a group of merchants who were travelling to the other town a week ago but then…that killer shows up and attacked us. Some of us survived and now, we are hiding somewhere in this forest. I left our hiding place trying to find food. But then he shows up and now he's trying to find me." Reyes explained.

"Don't worry, we will find that killer and save all of you." Judith said solemnly.

"Thank you very much. Perhaps you guys should drop by at the east side of the forest. We set up a camp over there. Come follow me and you guys can talk to our leader." Reyes smiled.

"Sounds like a good idea." Darren said.

Reyes turns around and gestures them to follow him. "Come along, I'll-"

"Watch out!" Carl yelled alarmed.

Reyes gasped as suddenly a blue-haired man jumps down from a tree and lands in front of him. The man shook in fear as he rose up. He then grabs him by his neck and holds him up in the air.

"Is that…" Judith was about to ask as they all got into their fighting stances.

"Yes." Darren said as he places his hand on the hilt of his katana. "He has to be Jellal."

Suddenly, Jellal's hand starts to glow black and Reyes screams in agony as his entire body starts to turn black. When he becomes completely black, he stops moving and his head slumps to the side. Jellal tightens his grip around his neck and his body turns into dust.

"That's…monstrous…" Estelle said in fear, her eyes wide.

Darren yells as he charges towards Jellal. But Jellal swiftly grabs Darren's neck with his left hand and holds him up in the air. The others gasped in horror.

"Darren!" Judith cried.

"No!" Carl yelled.

Jellal's hand glows black again and Darren's body starts to turn black. But suddenly, Jellal snaps his eyes open in shock as Darren suddenly looks down at him. He grabs him by his wrist and his body turns back to normal.

"I…I don't believe this." Estelle said surprised.

"He fought back." Carl added, surprised as well.

Darren then lifts up his legs and kicks Jellal in the chest, causing him to let go and send him sprawling through the ground.

Jellal growled as he quickly gets up. He clenches at the part of his chest where Darren has kicked him at and looks up at Darren. He never thought someone would be able to overcome his dark magic.

"Who…are you?" Jellal asked before he turns around, jumps into the trees and quickly disappear.

"Let's get him!" Carl yelled as he tries to run after him but Darren quickly stops him by grabbing his cape. "Hey! Let go!"

"No Carl. We'll find him later. The man told us that the survivors are finding in the east side of the forest. We should go there." Darren said.

"He's right Carl." Estelle said as she and Judith walk over to the both of them.

Carl sighed heavily. "Fine." He said reluctantly. Darren lets go and they all walk their way to the east.

As they walk down the forest, the trees around them start to become bigger and it also becomes a bit darker. Darren then takes this opportunity to learn more about his new companions.

"So Estelle, Carl, can you two tell us why you guys are heading to Temza as well?" Darren asked.

"Well…" Estelle said, trying to think of an answer.

"I wish to go to Temza to look for my missing family." Carl replied as he turns his head to him.

"Your family…When was the last time you see them?" Judith asked him.

Carl turns his head away and starts to look glum. "My father, mother, sister and I used to live together happily in Temza, until the Demon Prince appeared."

Darren widens his eyes and let out a soft gasp.

"Ten years ago, when the Demon Prince attacked, my sister and I are running through the forest, escaping from our hometown." Carl continued to explain. "Our parents already disappeared when the attack happened. I never get to know why but once we are far away from our home, my sister Ada placed me on a merchant wagon and she left. I eventually kept travelling until I met Estelle, who became my adoptive sister. Since my parents were never found and I know my sister may still be alive out there, I wish to go back to Temza and find them again. I do not wish to give up hope and I would like me and my family to be together again."

Darren lowers his head in guilt.

"What about you Estelle?" Judith asked the pink-haired girl.

"Well…I had to do something important there. And it's something that I don't wish to talk about right now." Estelle replied, lowering her head and clasping her hands together.

"Understood." Judith said. She turns her head and sees the pain on Darren's face. She grabs his hand to comfort him.

Eventually, they all arrived at a camp. There were several tents and the survivors are gathering around a campfire. They turn their heads to the four and they all got up and gathered around them.

"Have you come to help us?" One of them asked.

"Or are you guys being hunted by that killer as well?" Another one asked.

"Do you wish to join us?" Another person asked.

"Guys, calm down." Darren said to everyone as he holds up his hands. "We wish to speak with your leader."

"I'm right here." All the survivors move away and an old man walks over to the four. "My name is Raam. May I asked, is Reyes dead?"

"Yes, he is. We're sorry about that." Judith said as she, Darren, Carl and Estelle bowed.

"It's a shame." Raam said in sorrow. "If that killer doesn't disappear anytime soon, we will all starve to death."

The four look around and see that the survivors are both looking sad and placing their hands on their stomachs in hunger.

"We have no idea why that man is killing us. We are just innocent merchants trying to walk through this forest. Then suddenly, that man shows up and starts killing us like a psychopath. We have been hiding here safely ever since and trying to keep ourselves alive by eating the food we were suppose to deliver. But our food and supplies are running out and soon, we will all die from starvation. Will you help us?" Raam asked the four.

Darren, Judith, Carl and Estelle nod their heads seriously. "Don't worry, we will find him and get you guys out of here." Darren said to Raam.

"Thank you very much." Raam said. "You guys truly are angels from heaven."

"The last time we saw Jellal, he was jumping northwards. Maybe we should head north." Estelle said to Darren.

"Good idea." Darren said to Estelle. He turns back to Raam. "We will be right back Raam. Once we dealt with him, we will come pick you guys up."

"Thank you." Raam said as he and all the survivors bow their heads in gratitude.

The four then turn around and leave the camp.

"Let's not waste anymore time. Let's go find Jellal and put an end to his madness." Darren said solemnly.

* * *

><p>Jellal arrived back at his cave. As he enters the cave, two women walk over to him. They are Ultear and Meredy, both dark mages who saved Jellal from execution seven years ago and since then, the three form their own independent guild called Crime Sorciere.<p>

"Jellal, what happened? Did you get rid of him?" Ultear asked her leader.

"Yeah, I did. Until that guy showed up." Jellal replied.

"What happened?" Meredy asked.

"This man who wears glasses. He tried to attack me so I considered him an enemy and an ally of our targets. When I tried to do the killing spell on him, he managed to fight back." Jellal said. "It's unbelievable. I never thought there would actually be someone out there who can repel my dark magic."

"Impossible…" Meredy uttered.

"I say we should prepare ourselves and fight him together." Ultear suggested.

"It won't be easy. He also has three other people with him." Jellal said. "They could be equally as powerful as him."

"How right you are." Judith said.

Jellal, Ultear and Meredy all gasp. Jellal turns around and sees that Darren, Judith, Carl and Estelle at the entrance of the cave.

"You will stop your killing once at for all Jellal!" Estelle yelled as the four got into their fighting stances.

"Leave those poor innocent merchants alone!" Carl added.

Ultear and Meredy got into their fighting stances, ready to fight the four. But Jellal holds out his hand, telling them to hold their position.

"Please, let us not fight. Tell me, why are you siding with them?" Jellal asked Darren and his group.

"Because you are hunting and killing those merchants down, Jellal! Why are you doing this? They have done nothing wrong." Darren said.

"Do you really think they are innocent? Remember, looks can be deceiving." Jellal warned Darren.

"What are you trying to say?" Darren asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I would never do anything evil." Jellal said, lowering his hand. "I swore to a friend of mine seven years ago that I would never fight for darkness again. I'm killing those people in the name of Justice."

"What are you talking about?" Judith asked.

"Those merchants. They are the cause of the deaths and disappearances of the missing merchants. In fact, they aren't even merchants at all. They are locusts." Jellal told them.

"Locusts?" Carl asked.

"Locusts. They are a cannibal race that feeds on humans. They have been hiding in this forest, looking for any passing humans to feed on. That is why I'm killing them and I've been trying to find their hiding place for a month now." Jellal said. He turns to Darren. "Please sir, you have to trust me. If I don't stop these locusts, they will keep on capturing and eating innocent travelers every day."

Darren narrows his eyes. He doesn't know whether he should trust Jellal or not. Maybe Jellal is lying. Maybe he just made up the locust race to prevent getting a fight. Or perhaps, he is telling the truth. Maybe that is the real reason why merchants have been disappearing in the forest.

"I don't know if you are telling the truth." Darren lowers his head.

"Then let me tell you one more thing. Why would their clothes still look fine? Why would their complexions still look fine even though they are starving and losing energy? Why would that man immediately show up when you guys arrived at the bridge? It's like it is all being rehearsed out, isn't it? Why would he be looking for food when they already have food at the camp? Why did he immediately trust you guys and tell you all where their hiding place is? And finally, didn't I heard the man said that he and his group arrived at this forest a week ago when I do believe that the city stop sending merchants a month ago? Contradictions much?" Jellal said, tilting his head.

Darren, Judith, Estelle and Carl widen their eyes in realization. Everything Jellal told them. He is right.

"I guess Jellal has proven his point." Judith said.

Darren nods his head and said to Jellal, "Alright then Jellal. I trust you."

"Good." Jellal smiled.

"Everybody, stand down." Darren said and he and his group put away their weapons. Jellal, Ultear and Meredy then walk over to them.

"Will you show me and my guild members where their hiding place is?" Jellal asked.

"Sure. But I hope you really are telling the truth." Darren said.

"I am. Trust me." Jellal said. "Now let's find those locusts and put an end to their killing."

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: That's the end of the chapter. Looks like Jellal isn't evil after all. Heh. Stay tune for the next chapter where they battle against the locusts. Read and review!**


	7. Battle with the Locusts

**Sovereign: I would like to thank Wolf Girl Jaye, Assault Godzilla, zeprincelini, ShiningStellar, splitheart1120, sNoWaNgL and Fatherfail for reviewing! And now, get ready because this is a LOOOONG chapter.**

_**Chapter 7: Battle with the Locusts**_

Later, the 'merchants' were sitting around their campsite until Darren, Judith, Carl and Estelle arrived back. The merchants got up and gathered around the four.

"So, have you dealt with the killer?" Raam asked the four hopefully.

"Raam, we believe there's something you're not telling us." Carl said sternly as he folds his arms.

"What do you mean?" Raam asked innocently.

"Quit acting Raam. You're the ones who kill the merchants. Not Jellal." Darren said angrily. Raam and the 'merchants' gasped as Jellal, Meredy and Ultear appear behind the four.

"We've finally found you, you filthy monsters." Jellal said as he, Ultear and Meredy got into their fighting stances.

Raam growled angrily and the other 'merchants' furrow their eyes. "So, you have found out our secrets. You shall regret your mistake because you will not be leaving here alive." Darren, Jellal and the others watched as Raam and the 'merchants' magically turn into their true forms. They all transform into huge and ferocious humanoid beasts with golden eyes and sharp teeth. Raam stands out the rest by having blood red eyes and dressed in huge black armor.

"Kill them all! Tear their limbs and eat their flesh!" Raam yelled to the locusts. The locusts roared in response.

"Let's go!" Judith yelled as the seven humans charged towards the locusts and fight them.

Carl jumps into the air and kicks the faces of three locusts with one kick. Carl lands back on the ground, turns around and sees one locust charging towards him.

"I shall smash you, you-"

"Laetabillis Cantata!" Carl yelled as he summons a huge golden gear and the gear swiftly spins towards the locust, knocking him towards a nearby tree. After that, the gear disappears.

"When you fight, don't talk." Carl said as he places his hands on his hips.

Estelle looks around and sees seven locusts surrounding her. "There's nowhere to run, human!" One of the locusts yelled to her.

"Is that so?" Estelle said, narrowing her eyes. The locusts then watched curiously as she clasps her hands together and closes her eyes. "Here I go." Estelle now levitates into the air and her body is now glowing white. "Divine Judgment for evil souls!" She opens up her eyes and spread out her arms as a huge white cross appears behind her. "Sacred Penance!" The cross then shot seven huge beams of light at the seven locusts, sending all of them sprawling through the ground.

Estelle lands gently back on the ground and said to them, "Rest in peace."

Judith swings her spear vertically at a locust, sending him flying into the air. "Luna Gale!" She yelled as she jumps over to the locust and does a spinning kick at the locust, kicking him several times further into the air. "And now, Crescent Moon!" Judith then swings her spear vertically at the locust again, this time swinging it in a curve. She slices the locust into half with her attack and lands safely back on the ground.

"Maguilty Sodom!" Meredy yelled as she magically summon hundreds of magic swords and the swords flew towards a group of locusts. They all yell in pain and agony as the swords stab through their bodies. Meredy then lowers her hand.

**SLASH!**

Suddenly, Meredy yells in pain as Raam swings his halberd from behind, slashing her back.

"Meredy!" Ultear cried in horror. When a locust is walking towards her, she quickly turns to the locust and blasts him with her magic. She wish she could help Meredy right now but she's too busy.

Raam laughed evilly as Meredy falls to the ground bleeding.

"Damn you! How dare you attack someone from behind!" Jellal yelled angrily as he holds up his hand and shot a huge black magic ball at Raam. Raam simply deflects the attack by swining his halberd.

"Who cares? We locusts fight without mercy while you humans fight according toyour beliefs. Little did you guys know that they are holding you back. That is why we locusts are superior!" Raam yelled proudly as he holds up his halberd into the air.

Suddenly, Darren runs over to him and swings his katana horizontally at Raam's left arm. Raam yelled in pain as he drops his halberd and grabs his bleeding arm.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size then?" Darren said as he holds his katana tightly.

"Heh." Meredy chuckled as she looks up at Darren. "You told him off."

Raam growled as he turns to Darren, "You will pay for this!" Darren turns around and runs away as Raam starts chasing him.

"Where are you going?" Jellal yelled to Darren.

"I know what I'm doing! You guys continue fighting!" Darren replied as he runs into the trees with Raam following him from behind.

"He's right. He'll be fine." Judith said to Jellal.

"I hope so." Jellal said, lowering his head. He then turns to the others and yelled as he continues shooting dark magic balls at the locusts around him, "Someone please! Help Meredy!"

"I'm on it!" Estelle replied. She runs over to Meredy and kneels down to her. "Are you alright?"

"What does it look like?" Meredy replied weakly.

"Hold still." Estelle clasps her hands together rand closes her eyes. Meredy watched in amazement as the huge cut on her back starts glowing. All her blood flows back into her body and the wound quickly heals by itself.

"What did you do?" Meredy asked Estelle.

"I healed you of course." Estelle smiled at her. Meredy then gets up from the ground.

"Then I guess I can continue fighting!" Meredy said before she charges towards the locusts.

"That's the spirit!" Estelle said, raising her fist.

* * *

><p>Raam growls as he enters the forest and looks around. Darren was nowhere in sight. Raam started laughing and said out loudly as he walks through the forest, "Pathetic human! Runnign away from a fight! This shows how inferior your species-"<p>

Suddenly, Raam snaps his eyes open and coughs out blood. He looks down and widens his eyes in horror as a huge red demonic arm stabs through his stomach. Darren then steps out from the tree next to Raam and stares into Raam's eyes with his demonic golden eyes. Raam's eyes now show fear and horror.

"**You dare insult me? I shall make you pay, filthy creature." **Darren said to Raam in his distorted voice.

"N-n-no…" Raam said.

"**You said that you would tear off my limbs? How about I tear off yours first." **Darren's right arm also transforms into a demonic arm and Raam gasped as he stabs through his groin with it.

"P-p-please…have mercy…" Raam begged for his life.

"**All out of." **Darren replied. He starts to open up Raam's wound, causing him to scream louder. Darren continues tearing until Raam is tore off in half and his blood splatters onto the ground.

After Raam is defeated, Darren's arms and eyes turn back to normal and he gasped as he fell to his knees and places his hands on the ground.

"I did it again." Darren said. Darren's reason for running into the forest to fight Raam alone is so that he can use his demon powers to defeat without letting Carl, Estelle, Jellal, Ultear and Meredy know who he really is. He hopes that he can stay this way. He also hopes that his demon powers won't consume his body entirely if he keeps using them.

"Guess I should go back to the others." Darren gets up, picks up Raam's halberd and runs back to the campsite.

* * *

><p>When he arrives at the campsite, he sees that all the locusts are now lying on the ground defeated. Some of them are dead while the others are badly injured.<p>

"Darren, you're back!" Judith said.

"Where's Raam?" Meredy asked. Darren holds out his halberd and drops it to the ground.

"Dealt with." Darren replied.

Jellal nods his head before turning to the locusts. "Now, to make sure all of you are wipe off this world!" Jellal flicks his fingers and suddenly, all the locusts are engulfed in black flames. The locusts yelled in agony until they all turn into ash.

"We did it!" Estelle cried happily as she and Carl hug each other.

"Yeah! We've won!" Carl cheered.

"Yes, but it's not over yet." Ultear said.

"What?" Judith said.

"We only wipe out a small portion of them. We still need to find their hive." Jellal added. "The creature who is reproducing these locusts is the Corpser. If we take it out, we can stop their madness once and for all."

"But how are we going to find it?" Carl asked. Darren then secretly uses his demon sight and scans the campsite. He looks around until he sees a hole below a pile of crates.

"Over there." Darren said as he goes back to his normal vision. He runs over to the crates and pushes them off.

"How do you know?" Jellal asked curiously.

"My instincts I guess. Now let's go." Darren said as he gestures everyone to the hole.

Jellal folds his arms. "You never cease to amaze me Darren." He said. He turns to Ultear and Meredy. "Ultear, Meredy, stay outside and make sure no locusts try to escape."

"Got it." Meredy said as she and Ultear nod their heads.

"The rest of us shall go." Jellal said. Judith, Carl and Estelle nodded.

"Let's move." Darren said as the five jump into the hole.

* * *

><p>When Darren, Jellal, Judith, Estelle and Carl arrived at the locusts' secret hive, they widen their eyes in shock and horror. There are several dead humans everywhere in the main entrance. Some are being hanged by nooses around their necks; some are being placed on tables with their arms and ankles cuffed and their stomachs disemboweled and skulls floating in pots of boiling water.<p>

Darren notices the pain and uncomfortable expressions on Judith and Estelle's faces.

"Are you guys alright?" Darren asked.

"I'm alright…" Judith turns away sadly. "It's just…"

"This place is full of disturbance." Estelle lowers her head with a hurt expression on her face.

"I wish we have time to mourn the fallen, but we have to find the Corpser." Jellal said. Everybody nod their heads in agreement and they all run down the hallway leading to the next room.

As they run, Jellal takes this opportunity to talk to Darren. "So Darren, you were able to repel my dark magic earlier. How did you do that?" He asked.

"Oh, um…I guess I did a lot of training, that's all." Darren answered.

"Heh. You know, we could use someone like you in Crime Sorciere." Jellal said with a small smirk.

"Yeah but sorry. I already had companions of my own." Darren replied politely.

The five kept running until they arrived at a narrow bridge which leads to the other side of the cave. Below the bridge is a huge bottomless pit.

"Looks like we have to watch our step." Carl pointed out.

"Over there! Get them! Do not let them get to the Corpser!" one of the locusts yelled. The five turned around and see a huge group of locusts with spears running over to them from behind.

Judith and Estelle glared at the locusts and step forward to them. "Judith, let's make these monsters pay for what they have done to the missing merchants." Estelle said to Judith in a serious tone.

"I was thinking of the same thing." Judith said as she readies her spear.

Estelle turns to the boys. "Guys, you go ahead, we'll deal with these locusts for you."

"Very well. Good luck you two." Jellal said to them.

"And be careful Estelle." Carl added.

"I will." Estelle assured Carl with a smile before the two girls charged at the locusts.

"Let's keep moving!" Jellal said to Darren and Carl. The three boys then carefully walk across the bridge until they arrived at the other side. They then entered a huge hole and into a dark tunnel.

"I'll light up the way." Carl said as he holds up his hand and summons a small bright ball of energy, lighting up the tunnel.

The three kept running down the tunnel. It took a while but eventually they arrived at the other side of the tunnel and entered a huge room. Carl removes his energy spell as the room is filled with light. They look around and see that the room is full of skulls and bones, reminders of the humans which the locusts have captured and eaten.

Suddenly, there was a loud thump and the ground begins to shake. The three boys turn their heads and see a huge creature entering the room.

It was a 40 feet tall spider-like creature with four eyes, eight legs and a huge thorax.

"Is that…" Darren said as the three boys get into their fighting stances.

"Yes. That is the Corpser." Jellal said.

The Corpser roars at the three boys. It was so loud that is causes some stalagmites on the ceiling to shake. Darren looks up and sees one stalagmite falling from the sky and heading onto Carl.

"Look out!" Darren tackles Carl to the ground and they managed to move out of the way before the stalagmite lands onto the ground.

"You saved my life." Carl said to Darren as he adjusts his glasses.

"Thank me later." Darren said as he quickly gets up and pulls Carl up. They turn back to the Corpser who roared again. After that, several more locusts appeared in the room and surround the boys.

"There's a lot of them. Are you guys ready anyway?" Jellal asked.

"Let's take them out." Carl said as he gets into his fighting stance again.

"Go!" Jellal yelled before they run over to the charging locusts.

Darren swings his katana horizontally at a Locust, slicing off his body. After he does so, the Corpser attempts to stomp Darren with one of his front legs. Darren quickly rolls out of the way before he drops down his leg and there is now a huge crack on the spot where Darren just left.

"Cantabile!" Carl yelled as he throws a timed mine (Which he calls the Cantabile) onto the Corpser. The mine sticks onto the Corsper's face and the mine exploded ten seconds later. The Corsper cries in pain as it backs away.

"I've blinded half of his vision!" Carl yelled to Darren and Jellal.

"Good! Meteor!" Jellal yelled as his body is now surrounded by magic and moves through the air in incredible speed. He appears above the Corsper's head and land several punches onto his face. The corpse yells in pain as it backs away even more.

"Don't let him hurt it!" One of the locusts yelled as they all throw their spears at Jellal. Darren jumps into the air, appears behind Jellal and deflects all the spears with his katana by swinging at them in incredible speed.

Some of the spears flew back at a few locusts and stabs them through their chests. They fall onto the ground dead.

Jellal now appears in front of one of it's front legs and closes his fist, except for two fingers. He shot a huge sphere of magic at the leg and the blast tears it off.

Darren runs over to the other front leg. He slides down the ground and as he passes by it's leg, he uses his katana to slice it off.

The Corpser screams in pain, then widen it's eyes in rage. It is not going to let these two humans get the best of him. The Corpser turns to Jellal and opens its mouth. It fires a huge energy blast at him. Jellal yells as the blast hits him and sends him back onto the ground.

Darren is now underneath the Corpser and slashes it's belly with his katana.

The Corpser yells before he tries to stomp Darren literally with it's belly. Darren quickly gets up and pushes its belly upwards, preventing it from squashing him.

"Hang in there Darren! Laetabilllis Cantata!" Carl yelled as he shot his golden gear at the Corsper. The Corpser quickly uses one of it's leg to deflect the gear, sending it back to Carl, who quickly dodges it by rolling to the side.

Jellal tries to get up but one of the locusts stomps him on his chest.

"You are not going to take out our Corsper!" The locust yelled at him.

"Yes I am!" Jellal said as he tries the locust by the ankle and the locust gasped as his leg turns black. Jellal then tightens his grip, causing his leg to turn into ash. The locust, now only having one leg, yells in agony as he gets off and falls to the ground.

Jellal gets up and runs over to the Corpser.

"Hang in there Darren!" He yelled to Darren, who is now sweating heavily as he continues to use his strength to hold onto it's belly. "Take this!" Jellal holds out his hand and shot several beams of light at the Corsper. The Corpser fires another blast at Jellal and the blast evaporates the beams.

"No!" Jellal said before he quickly rolls over the ground to dodge the Corsper's blast.

One of the locust wraps Carl with his arm from behind. "I got you youngling!" The locust said.

"Don't…call me…a…YOUNGLING!" Carl yelled ferociously as he punches the locust's stomach with his elbow. It was a powerful blow and the locust backs away from Carl, surprised that a 12 year old boy has at least the strength of a lightweight boxer. Carl yells as he holds up his hand and shot several beams of light at the locust. The beams blast through his arms, chest, stomach and legs. The locust yells in agony and immediately went silent when one of the blasts shot through his forehead and he slumps to the ground.

"I…HAD…ENOUGH…OF YOU!" Darren shouted. He yells as his eyes turn gold and uses his new strength from his demonic powers to literally lift up the Corpser. Fortunately, his arms didn't transform so Jellal and Carl doesn't notice his other form.

"Incredible." Jellal said as he watched in amusement.

The Corpser screeches as Darren throws him into the air. Darren then jumps into the air and flies over to the Corsper in incredible speed. He points his katana towards the Corsper and he stabs through his jaw and comes out from his face.

Daren then lands safely on the ground while the Corpser lands on its back with a loud thud. The Corpser tries to lift its head up but a few seconds later, its head slumps to the side.

Suddenly, the entire room starts to rumble and the stalagmites are shaking.

"This place is falling apart! Let's go!" Jellal yelled to Carl and Darren. Darren quickly unsheathes his katana and the three boys quickly run out of the room as the place starts to collapse.

As they run down the hallways, they pass by several locusts who are all panicking as they head their way out. Unfortunately, the stalagmites fell onto them and instantly kill them as they try to escape.

Jellal, Carl and Darren managed to run faster than the locusts and kept running down the hallway as rocks and stalagmites fell from the ceiling. Carl accidentally trips over a rock and squeals as he was about to hit the ground. But Darren quickly grabs him by the back of his collar. After he pulls him back up, he grabs his hand and they both continue running down the hallway.

"I'm not going to lose anyone. Ever." Darren said solemnly to Carl as he drags him. Carl stares at Darren for a moment before nodding his head.

The three boys eventually saw light at the end of the hallway and they all entered it.

They step out of the cave and immediately stop to catch their breath.

"Look." Carl said. They turn back to the cave and watched as huge rocks covered up the entrance.

Jellal sighed as he fell to the ground on his rear. "It's over. I…We did it." He said.

Darren turns to him and smiled. "Yeah. We couldn't have done it without each other's help." Jellal smiled back at him.

"Guys!" Ultear said as she, Meredy, Judith and Estelle run over to them.

"Estelle!" Carl cried happily.

"Carl!" Estelle cried back and they both run over to each other and embraced. "Thank goodness you're alright."

"Good thing Estelle and I escape the cave in time as well when it starts to collapse." Judith said.

"It's good to know that you're alright too." Darren said as he walks over to Judith. The krityan smiled at him.

"Guys…does this mean our mission is over?" Carl said.

Darren turns to Carl and smiled. "Yes. It is."

"But what are we going to say to the mayor? He isn't going to believe that Jellal isn't the cause of the deaths of the merchants." Estelle said.

"No guys. Let the mayor know that you guys defeated me." Jellal said to them.

"What?" Judith said as she, Darren, Carl and Estelle turn to him.

"If the whole world thinks I'm dead, I won't have to run away from the council anymore and I'll finally be a free man." Jellal explained.

"Alright, if you say so." Darren said to him. Jellal then removes one of his gloves and gave it to Darren.

"Show him this as proof that I've been slained." He said.

* * *

><p>Later that day, Darren, Judith, Carl and Estelle walk back to the mayor and the minister and told them they have defeated Jellal and showed them his glove. The mayor and the minister are convinced by their story and hands them the gold and the map.<p>

"Thank you so much for killing the assassin. Now that he's gone, Earthland will never fear the infamous Jellal again and the city's merchants can come to our town again." The mayor smiled.

"It's not a problem at all." Judith smiled.

"We shall tell our townspeople the good news. Farewell heroes and remember, you four are always welcome in our town." The minister said. He and the mayor waved goodbye to them as they walk back to their town. Darren, Judith, Carl and Estelle waved back at them.

The four then entered back into the forest and Jellal, Ultear and Meredy walk over to them.

"Here you go." Darren said as he hands Jellal back his glove.

"You know, you could have appeared in front of the mayor with us and tell him the truth." Judith said.

"It doesn't matter." Jellal said as he puts back his glove on. "Besides, who would ever believed the infamous man who attempted to revive Zeref and destroyed the old magic council in the process."

"What shall we do now?" Carl asked Darren.

"Now that we have a map, we can now all head to Temza." Darren said.

"Alright!" Estelle cheered happily as she raises her fist into the air.

"Don't mind but…I would like to come with you guys." Jellal said. "Who knows what criminals I could find in Temza."

"What about your followers?" Judith asked, gesturing to Ultear and Meredy.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine on our own. Besides, if Jellal ever needs us again, he can always contact us with lacrima and we will easily find him." Ultear said as she holds up her ball of lacrima.

"Take care of yourselves while I'm gone." Jellal said to Ultear and Meredy. The two girls nod.

"It's good to have you with us Jellal." Darren said, extending his hand.

Jella smiled at him before taking it and shakes it. "With pleasure."

And so, with Jellal as Darren's newest companion, he and his group continue their journey to Temza.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: Wow. I never imagine this chapter would be so long. Lol. Anyways, that's the end of their mission and in the next chapter, it's back to Natsu, Lucy and the others! Stay tune and read and review!**


	8. Do What's Best

**Sovereign: *Blows dust off from the story* Wow. It's really been a long time since I update this story huh? Lol. Don't worry guys! I'm not giviing up on this story and if you guys want to know why I'm sooo late, visit my profile. I would like to thank Assault Godzilla, splitheart1120, zeprincelini, sNoWaNgL and ShingStellar for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks!**

_**Chapter 8: Do What's Best**_

"Ugggghhhh…."

"Natsu! Don't do this in front of us!" Lucy yelled as she carried an extremely ill Natsu by the arms and Mirajane carrying him by his legs.

"Does this happen every time he gets onto transportation?" Mirajane asked.

"Every time**, **Mira." Erza groaned as she, Gray, Juvia, Wendy, Happy and Charle are walking beside them.

The Fairy Tail guild has arrived at the town of Tonica, a human settlement 50 miles away from the Kingdom of Alahorn. They were originally going to travel straight of Alahorn itself to visit the ruins of Temza to find out more clues of the Demon Prince, unfortunately, because Natsu kept felling extremely ill throughout the train ride, the guild was forced to leave the train and alight at Tonica as the passengers and staff couldn't stand the sight of Natsu vomiting anymore.

"Damn it Dragonhead! Because of your sickness, we were kicked out of the train!" Gray snapped at Natsu, who looks like he's ready to barf again.

"Gray! Quiet down! Right now, we need to find a doctor to treat Natsu." Lucy said to Gray.

"Lucy's right." Erza said in agreement.

"Why can't Wendy help him?" Mirajane asked.

"Um…my magic don't treat people with transport sickness." Wendy scratches the back of her head.

"Natsu…hang in there please." Happy said in concern as he flies above his pink-haired friend.

"I love ponies…especially ones that have rainbow tails." Natsu mumbled as he rolls his eyes around.

* * *

><p>The guild then leaves the train station and step into the town. The guild looks around in awe. Most buildings in the town are wooden houses. There were docks, a market and a large restaurant. It was quite a huge and lively town.<p>

"Incredible…" Juvia said, looking around the town.

"Yeah, this town is pretty big." Gray said.

"Guys! There's a clinic!" Mirajane said, pointing at a small clinic.

"Hopefully someone in there will help Natsu out. Let's go." Lucy said before everybody help carry Natsu over to the clinic.

The guild then enters the clinic and Erza walks over to the reception where a girl with short yellow hair and dressed in a green school uniform and a tan skirt is sitting behind the desk writing some files.

"Um, excuse me." Erza said as she rings the bell on the desk a few times.

The girl looks up and asked, "Hello there, how can I help you?"

"Yes, one of our guild members needs attention. Can you please help him?" Erza asked, pointing at Natsu behind her.

"Oh sure thing. Give me a minute." The girl nods her head before getting up and walks into the pharmacy room.

"What do you guys think Alahorn look like?" Gray asked. "I mean after the war it had with Temza, I'm sure the kingdom now has a very strong defense."

"Indeed." Lucy nods her head. "I've read about the kingdom in the library and they said that Alahorn was equally damaged as Temza after the war. The country only took 4 years to rebuild and since then, the army has gotten bigger and the capital walls are now more thicker, stronger and impenetrable. Rarely do Alahorn ever made contact with the other kingdoms in Earthland but they are still considerable a neutral stable country by the Magic Council."

"Alahorn is full of mystery…" Wendy said, folding her arms.

"Indeed." Mirajane added.

Suddenly, the moment of silence was broken when the door burst open with a huge amount of smoke. The guild quickly cover their mouths and see a 17 year old boy with spiky red and yellow hair dressed in a grey coat with a yellow star, white gloves white uniform, white pants and shiny dark red boots emerging out from the room.

"Dammit! I've ruined my surprise dinner for Wako!" The boy cried in despair.

The guild stares at the boy and their mouths are agape. "That's…a doctor?" Juvia said.

Tears then formed in the boy's eyes and he fell to his knees. "Oh…my surprise…for my beautiful Wako…is ruined."

"Takuto! Don't cry!" The girl from before came out of the room and hugs him from behind. "It's okay…at least you are alright and not injured."

"But Wako…" The boy now known as Takuto turns to the girl with tearstained eyes. "What could have been the greatest surprise I ever made for you is gone!"

The girl now known as Wako gave a small smile and places a hand on Takuto's cheek. "Don't worry Takauto. The greatest gift you can give to me…is yourself."

Takuto sobbed and immediately gave Wako and tight hug. "Oh Wako! You are the best wife ever!" He yelled.

Mirajane sweatdropped. "He's as energetic as Elfman."

"And you are the best husband anyone could ever have!" Wako cried as she hugs him back.

Meanwhile, Lucy and the others who are still watching them are completely either speechless or dumbfounded.

"Um, sir, you just failed to prepare a dinner. It's no big deal." Lucy said.

Takuto and Wako turn to the guild and snap back to reality. They two got up and Takuto gave a bow. "Hello everybody, sorry to keep you guys waiting." Takuto greeted the guild politely and smiled.

"Wow, he acts as if he wasn't doing anything immature earlier." Erza sweatdropped.

"My name is Takuto Tsunashi, how can I help you guys today?"

"Yeah, our friend, he's still suffering from transportation sickness." Gray said, gesturing to Natsu who still looking dazed. "Can you help us?"

"Ah yes, transportation sickness." Takuto said, clasping his hands. "Just bring him into my room!"

* * *

><p>Later that night, Lucy, Gray and Erza watched as Takuto squeezes some lime juice into Natsu's mouth, who is placed on the bed.<p>

"Limes usually help people who has transportation sickness." Takuto explained to them.

"Really?" Lucy asked.

"Yup, that's why sailors always drink lime juice whenever they had seasickness." Takuto said with a grin.

Then, everybody turn their heads when Natsu groaned as he slowly lifts his head up.

"Ah I see your friend is finally regaining conscious." Takuto smiled as he puts away his limes.

"Natsu!" Lucy said in relief.

Natsu blinked his eyes a few times, then looks around. He then turns to Lucy, Gray, Erza and Takuto who are all sitting next to him.

"Oh hey minna." Natsu said. "Are we in Alahorn?"

"No, because of you-" Gray got cut off when Erza quickly covers his mouth to prevent any fight and argument between him and Natsu.

"Natsu, are you okay?" Lucy asked in concern as she grabs his hand.

Natsu made a huge toothy grin at Lucy. "I'm totally fine, as long as I have everybody, including you."

Lucy chuckled, "Welcome back Natsu."

"Um Lucy, why don't Gray and I go check on Wendy and the others while you stay and look after Natsu?" Erza asked with a smirk.

"Oh…okay." Lucy said.

"And Takuto, we can discusss about the payment outside as well." Erza said to Takuto.

"Oh that would be good." Takuto smiled. Erza, Gray and Takuto then got up and leave the room, leaving Lucy and Natsu alone.

'_She's finally got some time alone with Natsu…'_ Erza secretly smiled.

After the three leave, Lucy turns to Natsu and said, "Kinda weird that…they leave us alone like this."

"Yeah." Natsu said.

There was a brief moment of silence between the two until Lucy said, "How's it going between you and Lisanna?"

"What? Oh yeah, it was good." Natsu smiled. "We are planning to visit some nice and beautiful places to spend time together."

"You really love her since childhood?"

"Well, she did ask me to marry her when we were kids. But I never gave her an answer back then."

"I see."

"Hey Lucy…"

"What is it?" Lucy widens her eyes at him.

"I'm really sorry that I never get to spend any time with you, Happy, Gray and ERza ever since I started dating Lisanna." Natsu said apologetically.

Lucy smiled a bit. "It's okay Natsu. At least we're still a team right?"

"Indeed." Natsu nods his head.

"By the way Natsu, the town here is great! We should definitely walk around and see what they have once you recover!" Lucy said anxiously.

"Really, sounds great. Can't waot for a speedy recovery then." Natsu smiled.

Lucy and Natsu smiled at each other for a moment.

"Lucy, I got a question for you." Natsu suddenly asked.

"What is it?" Lucy asked, slightly puzzled.

"Do you really approve me being with Lisanna?"

Lucy widens her eyes and her mouth agape. "Wha…what made you ask me that question?"

"Because I do remember you sounded a bit hesitant when you congratulated me."

This causes Lucy to remove her grip on Natsu's hand and leans back on her chair. Natsu rose up from the bed and turns to Lucy.

"Natsu…I…" Lucy said nervously.

"Please be honest Lucy." Natsu said. "Do you really approve me and Lisanna's relationship?"

Lucy's hands then tighten into fists and she lowers her head. What should she say? Should she say no? If no, then Natsu might change his mind about Lisanna and-

No.

That wouldn't be the right thing to do. That would be selfish. As a friend, she must never be selfish. Especially when it comes to relationships.

Lucy looks up and gave a smile. "Of course I do Natsu. You and Lisanna look great together."

Natsu's mouth slightly agape for a while, then lowers his head, then looks up at Lucy with a smile. "Thank you Lucy. Thank you for being honest."

Lucy smiled back at Natsu and said, "You're very welcome. Natsu, may I leave the room and join the others?"

"Sure." Natsu smiled. Lucy got up from the chair and leaves the room. Natsu then lies back down on the bed to get some more rest.

* * *

><p>"Oh don't worry you guys, payment will not be necessary at all. After all, it wasn't a very serious case." Takuto said to Erza, Gray, Wendy, Mirajane, Charle and Happy.<p>

"Are you sure?" Wendy asked.

"Of course." Wako added.

Then, everybody turn their heads when Lucy walks of the room and heads to the exit.

"Lucy-san?" Juvia asked in concern. But Lucy kept walking until she's out of the clinic.

"We'll check on her." Erza said as she, Mirajane and Juvia leave the clinic and go after Lucy.

* * *

><p>Outside the clinic, Lucy sat on a bench outside and lowers her head. She starts trembling and tears then fell onto her knees.<p>

"Lucy….you're…a-an idiot…" She managed to say between her sobs. "Idiot!"

"Lucy!" Mirajane cried as she, Erza and Juvia immediately sat next to their crying friend.

"Lucy-san, don't be sad." Juvia said as she places her hands on her shoulders.

"Lucy, what happened?" Erza asked in concern as she places her hand on her knee.

"I….I rejected Natsu." She said. Juvia, Erza and Mirajane widen their eyes. "But…don't worry you guys. It is my own decision." She wipes off her tears and look up at them with tearstained eyes. "I rather not disturb Natsu and Lisanna's relationship and be selfish."

Mirajane sighed and nods her head. "Very well Lucy."

Erza wraps an arm around Lucy and gave a small smile. "Don't worry Lucy. Decisions like this are always had to make. Stay strong." She said.

"Lucy-san, remember, you still got us, alright?" Juvia said to Lucy. Lucy nods her head.

"We'll see you later. Come back in when you're ready." Erza said before she, Juvia and Mirajane got up and went back into the clinic.

Lucy then lowers her head sadly and tears start to form in her eyes again. Did she really made the right decision in rejecting Natsu? Should she just let Natsu go with Lisanna like that?

"Ah, I see you have a love problem."

Lucy looks out and jumped a bit when she sees Takuto standing in front of her rubbing her chin.

"You're the doctor." Lucy said.

"Yup. Takuto Tsunashi." Takuto smiled while he winked an eye and gave the peace-sign.

"Right…" Lucy then turns her head away, still suffering from her emotional pain.

"What happened? Tell me. I'm a doctor. Maybe I can help you." Takuto asked.

Lucy grits her teeth and folds her arms. "It's Natsu…it's been some time that he started dating with Lisanna, his childhood friend. As his best friend, I have to approve his relationship."

"But do you yourself love him?" Takuto said, placing his hands on his hips.

Lucy let out a sigh. "Yes, I do love him. I love the times we did missions together, the times when he breaks into my house without permission. I just wouldn't admit it because…I'm a coward."

Takuto arches an eyebrow when she says that.

"I know he's now dating Lisanna. But…I want to be with him too! It's not fair that Lisanna gets to date him and not me! But….I can't be selfish. I'm his best friend. I must never do anything bad to him!" Lucy then ended with more sobbing.

Takuto watches this display of sadness and emotional pain for a while until he let out a sigh and said, "And you are going to deal with this emotional pain of yours just like that for the rest of your life?"

Lucy starts her sobbing and looks up at Takuto. "Ta-kuto?" She widens her eyes.

"Lucy Heartfilia, if you really truly love Natsu, you _must_confess your love now." Takuto said with narrowed eyes.

"You want me confess? And give him a hard time to decide bwteen me and Lisanna?" Lucy asked.

"Lucy, the reason why you do not want to admit your feelings to Natsu is not because you didn't want to be selfish, it's because you don't have the determination." He said. "Lucy, do you want me to tell you how I ended up with Wako?"

"Wako? The receptionist?" Lucy asked.

Takuto nodded and said, "When I was young, my parents died in a car accident, so my grandfather took me in. He was a brilliant doctor and I dreamt of being as wonderful as he was one day. While I lived with my grandfather, I became friends with a rich boy named Sugata Shindo, who is the son of a major banking company. Sugata then introduced me to his betrothed, Wako Agemaki, who he should marry when they reach the age of 16. Since Sugata is usually busy studying banking with his family, I was the one who spent more time with Wako. And it's no surprise that within time, I fell in love with Wako. Then one day, Wako confess to me that she doesn't want to marry Sugata. She doesn't wish to live in a life where she has to wear expensive clothing and jewellery and focus most of her time on work, she just wants a normal life where she can have fun and see the sky and sea every day. So two days before Sugata and Wako's wedding, I confessed my love and I wish to marry Wako. Wako also confessed her love for me and we got together." He gave a wide smile. "It was truly the most happiest moment of my life."

"But what about your friend Sugata? Was he upset?" Lucy asked.

"Nope. Not at all." Takuto smirked. "He was happy for the both of us because as my best friend, he wants what's best for me and Wako."

Lucy widens her eyes as he said that.

Takuto then leans towards her and said, "Lucy, don't think about the things that are holding you back. You must do what's best for you. Confess your love….before it's too late."

Takuto then gave a bow and said, "I hope you would take my advice and stay strong." He then walks back into his clinic, leaving Lucy to think about what he had just told him.

Lucy let out a sigh and she places her hands on the bench and looks down at her knees.

"_Do what is best for me."_

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Takuto Tsunashi is from the anime Star Driver: Radiant Takuto which is a show I highly recommend watching.**


	9. Time to Help

**Sovereign: I would like to thank Vanilla Heart-chan, zeprincelini, splitheart1120, ShiningStellar, Assault Godzilla, sNoWaNgL and RedBloody-Yukata for reviewing!**

_**Chapter 9: Time to Help**_

The next day, everybody steps out of the clinic, including Natsu who is yawning loudly.

"Had a good night sleep, Natsu?" Erza asked the dragon slayer.

"Yeah, I think I feel totally fine now too." Natsu smirked, rubbing his eyes.

"That's great! Well, since you guys are all fine, how about I show you all the town?" Takuto asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"Oh, that would be great, Takuto." MIrajane smiled.

"Are you feeling better, Lucy-san?" Juvia asked Lucy. Lucy lifts her head up and perked up.

"Oh yes, I totally feel better now." Lucy smiled at her.

"That's great." Juvia smiled back.

"Alright you guys!" Takuto exclaimed while clapping his hands, getting Fairy Tail's attention. "As your personal guide of this town, I wish everyone to stay close together at times so that no one gets lost. Welcome to the town of Tonica, a peaceful coastal town with plenty of things to do. Follow me!"

"Yeah!" Wendy cheered as she pumps her fists into the air.

The guild then follows Takuto through the town. As they walk through the town, they can see the townspeople doing their daily routines. However, they also see that there is a huge group of townspeople are gathering around a well, collecting as much water as they can.

"Those people sure are trying to collect as much as water as they can." Wendy pointed out.

"Indeed." Lucy said in agreement.

"Ah yes, the water supply in this town." Takuto said, sounding grim. "You see," He guides the guild over to the river and points out to a huge dam at the distance. The guild looks at the dam in awe. "Ever since our town's dam mysteriously closed itself, water hasn't been flowing into our town for a month now and all of us are having trouble trying to maintain our water supplies."

The guild and Takuto then turn their heads and see a Rune Knight grabbing a man by his collar with another Rune Knight standing next to them.

"Where's our rice dammit!" The knight who is grabbing the man scolded.

"Yeah! We can never eat our meals without any rice!" The other knight added.

"I'm…so sorry you guys! But I just ran out of water supplies. Without water, I can't cook any rice!" The man explained. But then he gasped as the knight tightens his grip on his collar.

"Shut the hell up! We want out rice and that's final!" The knight shouted.

"That's enough!" A Rune Knight cpatin yelled as he approaches. The guild widen their eyes and their mouths agape, recognizing who the captain is.

"Isn't that…" Gray said.

Natsu narrows his eyes and grits his teeth. "It's Doranbolt."

"The man who ruined our guild's reputation." Juvia frowned.

"What on Earth are you guys doing? You two are embarrassing the Rune Knights and the Magic Council!" Doranbolt scolded the two knights.

The knight snorted as he releases the man. "Oh yeah, while what can you do to us, Captain?" He scoffed to Doranbolt.

"Yeah, you may be our captain. But outside of the Council, you don't have any real power over us!" The other knight added.

"Come on! Let's go somewhere else and have our breakfast." The knight said to the other. The two knights then leave while Doranbolt walks over to the man and carries him up.

"Thank you sir. But will you and your unit leave this town anytime soon? Your men have been doing nothing here but bullying us!" The man said before walking away. Doranbolt lowers his head sadness while the guild and Takuto walks over to him.

"What's going on here, Doranbolt?" Natsu asked while folding his arms. Doranbolt turns around and widens his eyes to see Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Juvia and Mirajane standing in front of him.

"Fa-fairy Tail?" Doranbolt said in surprise.

"Who else?" Gray said icily.

Doranbolt sighed and starches the back of his head. "This…this is bad you guys. My men and I arrived here just a day before the dam mysteriously closed. My men and I have been trapped in this town ever since. At first, we were all helping the townspeople to maintain their water supply, until most of my men have now went mad and started bullying the townspeople instead. I tried to stop them but they went up against me instead." He let out a sigh of defeat. "I…I really don't know what to do now. The only way I can ever stop this is that if someone can go over to the dam site and reopen it."

"And why hasn't anybody gone to the site to reopen the dam?" Erza asked.

"Because the dam site is haunted." Takuto answered.

"What?" The guild said in unison.

"Yeah, there used to be a small village where most of the dam workers lived in so that they can go to work to the dam everyday to help control the water flow of our town. But then, an incident broke out which destroyed the entire village. Many lives were lost and rumors say that their spirits still remain there." Takuto explained.

"So, there are ghosts?" Happy said, shivering a bit.

"That's scary…" Wendy added.

"Wait, Lucy, aren't ghosts and spirits the same thing?" Natsu asked Lucy.

"No. I'm afraid not. Spirits are separate beings that have their own lives and magic like us humans. Ghosts on the other hand are nothing like spirits because they are human souls, not individual beings that have their own magic spells." Lucy explained.

"Please guys, you really have to help me. If you guys don't reopen the dam and let me and my men leave, the town will continue to suffer from water shortage and my men will continue to stay here and bully the townspeople." Doranbolt pleaded as he fell to his knees. "I beg of you."

The guild looks at each other for a moment, before they all nod their heads.

"Come on guys, let's go to the site and reopen the dam." ERza said to everyone. Doranboly widens his eyes and looks up at them.

Natsu turns to Doranbolt with a glare. "We're not doing this because we forgive you. We're doing this because the town needs our help." He said. With that, everyone walks away except Wendy who walks over to Doranbolt.

"Don't worry Doranbolt. I'm sure if you continue to show us that you're willing to change, we may forgive you one day." Wendy said before bowing down and leave with the others.

Doranbolt watched as Wendy leaves. "Thanks Wendy." He uttered.

* * *

><p>"Whoa whoa whoa, you guys want me to guide you through the dam site?" Takuto asked the guild.<p>

"Yeah, because you're a citizen of this town and probably know more of the dam site then anyone of us." Gray said.

"Please Takuto, we need your help in order to complete our mission." Mirajane said.

A smile soon appears on Takuto's face. "You know guys, I kinda feel like crying here, because nobody has ever asked me for help before because they all think I'm crazy. Heh heh."

"Hey, it's okay. We Fairy Tail allows anybody to help us." Natsu smiled.

Takuto then wipes off his tears, turns around and points his finger into the air. "Don't worry, Fairy Tail guild! I, Takuto Tsunashi, will guide you through the dam site and help you save my town!" He exclaimed.

Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Juvia, Mirajane, Happy and Charle all sweatdropped from behind.

"He sure is energetic." Lucy uttered.

"Yeah…" Juvia added in agreement.

"Follow me guys!" Takuto said as he places his hands on his hips and turns to the guild with a smirk.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: Yeah, it's quite a short chapter. I know. But still, things are about to get exciting in the next chapter so stay tuned!**


	10. The Dam Site

**Sovereign: Wow. One week has gone by so fast. Oh well, time for another chapter. Lol. I would like to thank ShiningStellar, zeprincelini, Assault Godzilla, sNoWaNgL, and splitheart1120 for reviewing.**

_**Chapter 10: The Dam Site**_

After leaving the town, the guild and Takuto walked through a small forest until they arrived at a metal fence.

"Here it is, behind this fence is the dam site." Takuto said to the guild. Everyone sees that the gates are locked by a metal chain.

"I'll handle this." Gray said as he walks over to the chain and grabs it. The chain then turns into ice and it cracks into pieces. Gray then opens the gates and turns to the guild. "You guys ready for this?" He asked. Everyone nod their heads except Happy who slowly tries to fly away. Lucy quickly grabs him by his wing.

"No guys! Please! Don't drag me into this! Let me go back to the town and stay with Wako!" Happy cried, sobbing in despair.

"Oh no! You're not hitting on my wife!" Takuto yelled angrily at the exceed. Everybody else groaned at Happy's cowardice.

Lucy sighed. "Let's just go in, everyone."

Everybody pass through the gates and enter the dam. As they enter, the fog starts to clear up and everybody sees that the buildings are burn and broaded up. The houses were falling apart and the rooftops, windows and the furniture were burnt.

"It's so tragic." Wendy said sadly, knowing what had happened here.

"indeed. And sadly, nobody knows what the cause of the fire is too." Takuto said, sounding grim.

Suddenly, everybody turn their heads to Natsu when his stomach growled. "Sorry guys, it's just that we never ate anything this morning!" He said.

Suddenly, they heard another growl, causing everyone to shiver in fear a bit.

"That wasn't me…" Natsu said, sounding frightened.

"Sorry guys, that's my stomach." Juvia blushed. After that, there was another growl and this time, it came from Lucy.

"Yeah, actually, I'm really hungry too." Lucy chuckled as she wraps her arms around her stomach. Then, another growl and it's louder than Natsu's.

"Gray, that was from you, wasn't it?" Mirajane asked, turning to Gray.

"Yes…" Gray sighed.

"Hahaha! Your growl's louder than mine!" Natsu laughed. Then, there was another growl that is so loud that it causes everyone to jump in fright.

"What was that?" Lucy cried in horror.

"That was from me." Erza said, hanging her head in shame. Everyone stop walking and sigh.

"Erza is scary even when it comes to empty stomach growls." Natsu said, tilting his head to the side. Suddenly, they all heard footsteps.

Charle gasped and asked, "Who's there?'

"Everybody! Hide!" Erza whispered to everybody. Everyone quickly hide behind a nearby huge rock and Natsu and Lucy poke their heads out to see what's going on.

"Who do you see, guys?" Gray asked softly.

Natsu and Lucy both watched as two men, dressed in green uniforms are walking through a now damaged crop field.

"It's been a week now and we still hadn't found a single gem, Povorsky" One of the men said to the other.

The other man, now known as Povorsky, a man in his 40s and has blonde hair and wears a green hat to distinguish himself, said angrily, "Is it really that hard to find them, Lieutenant? Dammit. Then it looks like we would have to expand our search party." He now reaches out his hand and his hand glows light green. Six ghosts then rose up from the ground.

"What the hell?" Natsu whispered.

"Human ghosts…" Lucy uttered, widening her eyes.

"Listen you worthless souls. We are looking for your gems. Your very special gems. If you do not find these gems for us, then you can all remain here restless for another century!" Povorsky yelled to the ghosts.

"Why should we help you? You burnt our home and killed us all." One of the ghosts, who is a girl with shoulder length hair and has a hair strand dangling in front of her face, snapped.

"Shut up!" Povorsky's lieutenant yelled. Povorsky holds out his hand in front of his lieutenant.

"Come on, peasants. I know it's sad that you have lost your bodies and your souls will not rest until your remains and homes are buried and burnt, but with you all serving us, you all still have purposes to stay in this world rather than aimlessly walking around doing nothing for an eternity." Povorsky said, smirking evilly. Then he narrows his eyes and scowled. "Now don't waste any time! Move out!"

The two men left while the ghosts stood where they are, hanging their heads in sadness.

Meanwhile, Natsu and the others who slowly got out from their hiding place are disgusted by what they saw.

"Those poor souls…" Mirajane said sadly.

"And it's those bastards that kill them all." Natsu said, tightening his fists angrily.

"I want those bastards to pay!" Takuto yelled angrily. The guild widens their eyes, shock to see Takuto's anger. He yells as he was about to rush over to Povorsky and his lieutenant but Gray and Juvia quickly stop him and grab his arms tightly. "Let me go! Bastards who terrorize the peace don't deserve to live!"

"Takuto! Stop!" Erza yelled as she got in front of him and slaps his face, causing him to calm down. "I hate people who kill innocents too but our anger and hatred for them isn't going to help the victims and ourselves."

Takuto breathed heavily for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Yeah, you're right. I'm a doctor, not a madman. Sorry."

"It's alright." Juvia said as she and Gray gently release their grips. "We will avenge the victims."

"Who are you guys?"

Everyone turn their heads and see the ghosts coming over to them.

"AHHHHH! Gh-" Happy quickly got cut off when Charle and Wendy cover his mouth.

"That's not very nice of you!" Wendy whispered to Happy.

"Are you the people who used to live in this site?" Lucy said to the ghosts as she approached them.

"Yes." The girl nods her head. "My name is Rukia Kuchiki." She turns to the other ghosts and introduced them to the guild. "These are my friends, Renji Abarai, Ichigo Kurosaki, Hinamori Momo, Toshiro Hitsugaya and Soi Fon."

"This used to be a peaceful place, until they arrived." Ichigo said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Who are those men?" Natsu said, sounding unhappy.

"They are a dark guild known as the Furtuna. They came to our home to look for the Amaterasu Gems." Momo explained.

"They immediately kill our leader when they arrived and demand us to help them retrieve the gems. We refused, so a massacre happened and since we don't have any magic of our own and they fought us with dark magic, all of us died. Not a single survivor." Soi Fon said icily before she hangs her head.

"Don't mind her tone, guys. Soi Fon was our leader's daughter. She was hit by his death the hardest." Renji said.

"What are these Holy Gems they're searching for?" Mirajane asked them.

"The Amaterasu Gems. They are sacred to our village." Momo explained as she gestures to the damaged crop field the two dark guild members were standing on earlier. "The gems were the source of giving energy to our crops every day and they contain great magical energy. But now, the Furtuna came here to steal them."

"Fortunately, the gems were hidden in a very secret place. We of course, refuse to tell them the location." Ichigo added.

"What's their reason for stealing the gems?" Wendy asked.

"We don't know. They never tell us at all." Toshiro shrugged.

"Guys, you may not know us but we are Fairy Tail. A legal guild that helps people and bring peace and justice to Earthland. If you can tell us the secret location where you guys hide the gems, we can avenge you all and defeat the Furtuna." Natsu said to them.

"I see." Rukia said, closing her hand into a fist and placing it on her chest. "Fairy Tail, promise us that after you defeat the Furtuna, you will also let us rest in peace."

"How do we do that?" Lucy asked.

"By burning down our houses and remains completely." Renji said.

Erza places her fist against her chest and bow. "We promise. We will avenge you all and bring peace to your souls."

Soi Fon then walks over to the guild. "We're not sure if we should give you the secret location. But…we trust you all enough." Her stomach then did a twist and she points in the northwest direction. "Walk northwest until you all find a cave near the dam controls. That's where the gems are."

Lucy nods her head and turns to Soi Fon. "Thank you Soi Fon. And we will let you all rest in peace, we promise." The other guild members and Takuto nodded.

With that, the ghosts watched as everyone walk their way towards the secret location of the gems.

"Good luck." Ichigo uttered.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: This chapter took a bit longer because I was deciding who I want the dam site viallgers to be. Heh. Anyways, it's a short chapter but I hope you guys like it. read and review!**


	11. April Fool's Chapter

**Sovereign: Hi guys, I'm ending the Demon Prince because I have lost interest. So here's the epilogue.**

_**Chapter 11: Epilogue**_

In the end, everybody dies.

Temza forever remains destroyed and Alahorn conquers all of Earthland.

Natsu and Lucy became low-life janitors in a local old folks' home.

Gray became an alcoholic and he's now serving in jail after being arrested for drunk-driving.

Happy and Charle were killed by poachers and their bodies are displayed in a local museum.

Darren goes back to his grave and he's now buried in the Gobi Desert.

Judith now pursues a career as a prostitute in Las Vegas.

Mirajane and her siblings, Lisanna and Elfman, now work in a local fast food restaurant where they each earn 99 cents everyday.

Erza had her entire armor collection stolen. She's now bankrupt and now spending her life as a hobo.

Wendy and Juvia's relationship became strained. They both got into a fight and in the end, Juvia dies after Wendy stabs her with a knife. Wendy was then executed by the Magic Council for murdering.

Carl and Estelle are exiled to a deserted island where they spend the rest of their lives eating coconuts.

Jellal died in a car accident and his body was cremated in the ocean.

Takuto lost his job, had a divorce and commits suicide.

The Fairy Tail guild is abolished and everybody went their separate ways and they all die and fade away from history and nobody ever remembers the guild at all.

In the end, nobody lives happily ever after and evil has won.

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_**April Fool's!**_

**Everyone: Bwahahahahaha!**

**Erza: *Wipes a tear* Oh that was hilarious.**

**Darren: Seriously you guys, you thought Sovereign64 has lost interest in this story?**

**Natsu: Haha! No way at all!**

**Lucy: Don't worry minna! This story is not cancelled and it will continue til the end!**

**Sovereign: Yup! That's right! So until I can get an actual next chapter up, read and review!**


	12. Battle with Furtuna

**Sovereign: Here's chapter 11. The _real _chapter 11. Enjoy! ^^**

_**Chapter 11: Battle with Furtuna**_

The guild and Takuto arrived at the cave which Soi Fon told them where the gems are.

"So this is the cave where the gems are." Gray said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"We better find them before the dark guild does." Wendy said.

"Natsu, give us some light." Mirajane said to the dragon slayer.

"Got it." Natsu smirked before he holds up his right fist and lights up a fire. "Let's go in, everyone!"

Everybody then enters the cave. Everyone stick together closely and cautiously walk through the dark cave.

Takuto walks over to Lucy and nudges her arm.

"What?" Lucy turns to the doctor.

"Go ahead. Say anything to him." Takuto winks an eye and gestures to Natsu who is right in front of Lucy.

Lucy turns to Natsu and takes a deep breath. _'You can do this, Lucy.'_ She thought to herself.

Lucy walks over to Natsu and said, "Hey Natsu."

"Oh hi." Natsu smiled at his friend.

"Natsu…there's something I want to tell you…" Lucy lowers her head. "Sorry for being dishonest."

"What?" Natsu said and his mouth gape open.

Lucy looks up at Natsu and said, "I admit. I do like you. I am jealous with Lisanna because you are now dating with her." Natsu didn't reply for a moment. Lucy panicked, thinking that he hates her now for not telling him the truth earlier.

"Natsu…I really am sorry…" Lucy tried to apologize. "I…"

Natsu suddenly smiled and wraps an arm around Lucy. The blonde looks surprised. "I forgive you, Lucy. After all, you're my best friend."

Lucy blushed and smiled sheepishly. Takuto, Erza, Juvia, Wendy and Mirajane smiled happily behind them.

After Natsu lets go of his arm, he said to Lucy, "So, you don't really approve our relationship?"

"Yeah…" Lucy sighed. "But still, it would be rude of me if I were to interrupt your relationship with her."

"At least you told me the honest truth." Natsu smiled at her.

"Heh." Lucy chuckled as she grabs her left arm. Happy flies over to her.

"You liiiiiiike-" Happy tried to say but Charle quickly flies over and tackles him.

* * *

><p>Everybody kept walking through the cave until they arrived at the end. Everyone widen their eyes in awe as in front of them is a huge Buddha statue. On the right hand were three huge orange gems.<p>

"Those must be the Amaterasu Gems." Juvia said.

"Good, let's take them and get out of here." Erza said.

"Thank you for finding them for us."

Everyone gasped as they all turn around and see Povorsky and twenty five dark guild members standing behind him.

"It's the Furtuna!" Gray grits his teeth and tightens his fists.

"They must have secretly followed us!" Lucy added.

"Dammit…" Takuto narrowed his eyes.

"You think we don't know where you guys were hiding while we were talking to the villagers?" The lieutenant said.

"Now that we have found the gems, the Crimson Duchess will be very pleased." Povorsky said, smirking evilly.

"Who the hell is the Crimson Duchess?" Natsu asked, now looking livid with his fist still on fire.

"The Crimson Duchess gave us a mission to retrieve the gems. That is why we came here. And once we do give her the gems, we will be handsomely rewarded." Povorsky explained. "Now hand them over!"

"You can take them over our dead bodies." Lucy said as she readies her keys.

"A marvelous idea." Povorsky smirked. "Men! Take them down!"

"Yes sir!" The men yelled in unison before they draw out their swords, maces and rifles.

"My big mouth…" Lucy said, hanging her head.

"Come on guild! Let's fight!" Erza yelled as she summons her swords.

"Right." Mirajane said, glaring angrily as she transforms into her demon self.

"You got it!" Takuto yelled as suddenly, his chest glows.

"Whoa." Natsu said in awe as the Fairy Tail members watch Takuto pulls out a sword from his chest.

"Star Sword…Emeraude!" Takuto yelled as he draws out a green sword with his right hand. He then uses his left hand to pull out his second sword which is blue. "Star Sword…Saphir!" After drawing out his swords, he readies his swords and gets into a fighting stance.

"Impressive, boy. But let's see if you can take out all of my men!" Povorsky said. His dark guild members then yell as they charge towards the guild and Takuto.

"Erza. Let me and Takuto take out the leader." Natsu said.

"Permission granted." Erza nods her head. Natsu and Takuto charged at Povorsky while the others fight against his men.

"Open the Gate of Scorpion! Scorpio!" Lucy cried as she waves her key and summons her celestial spirit Scorpio.

"I'm here! What do you need?" Scorpio said to Lucy.

"Take them out!" Lucy ordered.

"Got it! Sand Buster!" Scorpio then gets down on all four limbs and uses his stinger to fire huge amount of sand at the men. Ten of Povorsky's guild members wail in agony as they are all send flying through the air.

Gray quickly dodged as one of the dark guild members swings his mace vertically at him. Gray then kicks him away while another dark guild member goes over to him and swings his sword horizontally at him. Gray quickly grabs his wrist and the member yells as he gave his arm a twist, then kicks him in the gut.

"Enough of this!" Gray grits his teeth as he uses his ice magic. "Ice Make: Hammer!" He creates a huge hammer made of ice and throws it at four of Povorsky's guild members. The members yelled in pain as the hammer smashed them hard on the ground.

"I got you now, girl!" One dark guild member runs over to Juvia and swings his mace at her. But Juvia quickly turns into water and when the member swings at her, his mace goes through the water and it didn't hurt Juvia at all.

"What?" The member said in surprise as Juvia turns back to normal. Juvia yells as she punches him with her left fist in the face, making him back away.

"Water Cane!" Juvia said as she swings her right arm and creates a whip made of water. The dark guild member wail in pain as Juvia continuously canes his butt with her whip.

"No! Stop it, please!" The member pleaded Juvia, however she ignored and kept caning him.

"Hell! Like Juvia would give you mercy after what you did to this village!" Juvia shouted angrily.

Happy and Charle flew over to two members and pull their hair. The members yell in annoyance as they try to shove them off but Mirajane grabs the two members by their heads and lift them up.

"Take them down Mira!" Happy said.

The members shake in fear as Mirajane gave both of them a dark glare.

"Sleep tight." She said to both of them.

"Wha-" Both members got cut off when Mirajane slams their heads together, knocking both of them out. She then tosses the two unconscious men away.

"Fire!" One member yelled as seven of them fire their rifles at Erza.

Erza dodges the bullets in fast speed and as she does so, her armor magically transforms into her bandage tube top and red hakama with yellow flames and her long hair is tied to a long ponytail. She charges over to the dark guild members and swings her katana horizontally at them. All seven members wail and fall to the ground after the S-Class mage slash through their torsos.

Erza then lowers her katana, turns her head to the fallen members and glared. "That's for killing the innocent."

Suddenly, Erza gasped when she heard a click. She turns her head and sees the lieutenant pointing his rifle right beside her.

"If my men can't take you out, I will!" The lieutenant said angrily.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy, who is nearby, blows huge amount of wind at the lieutenant.

"Wha-" Before the lieutenant could turn his head, he was knocked back by Wendy's attack and he's sent stumbling through the ground.

"Thanks Wendy." Erza turns to the 12-year old mage and smiled.

"No problem!" Wendy smiled back.

Natsu and Takuto yell as they both charge over to Povorsky. Natsu swings his flaming fist at him but Povorosky quickly dodge by backing away. Takuto then comes over and swings his Saphir vertically at him. Again, Povorsky dodged by sliding to the side. He holds up his hand and aims at Natsu and Takuto.

"Shadowball!" Povorsky yelled as he shoots a black magic ball at the two.

Natsu jumps away while Takuto knocks the ball away by swinging his Emeraude, sending the ball to the wall instead and leaves a mark on it.

Povorsky then continues firing his shadowballs at Takuto. But Takuto slowly approaches him while knocking the shadowballs away by swinging his Star Swords.

"Impressive." Natsu said as he watches while getting up from the ground.

Povorsky panicked as he keeps backing away until eventually, he found himself pinned against the statue. He cringed as Takuto points his Emeraude at his face.

"You shall surrender yourself and pay for your heinous crimes." Takuto said solemnly, glaring coldly at the Dark Guild master.

Povorsky then turns his head to the gems nearby. He turns back to Takuto and laughed maniacally as he reached for the gems.

Natsu gasped in horror. "Takuto! Stop him!" But it's too late as Povorsky grabs all three gems and he yells as his body glows.

"Agh!" Takuto backs away and covers his face as the light went into his eyes. When the light subsides, everyone present in the cave widen their eyes as Povorsky transforms into a huge muscular man. His veins are glowing orange, his hair turns white and spiky and his uniform and shoes are ripped off, leaving his pants.

"Oh my God…" Lucy uttered in horror as everybody get into their fighting stances.

"Give me a real fight!" Povorsky growled.

Natsu grits his teeth and growls angrily. "You got it!" he yells before unleashing his attack. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" He blows huge amount of fire at Povorsky. But Povorsky blocks the fire with his arm. He swings his arm at Natsu and sends him crashing into the wall.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried in horror. She glares at Povorsky and said, "You will pay for this! Scorpio, attack!"

"Got it!" Scorpio said as he uses his Sand Buster at Povorsky again.

"Let's attack him together!" Erza said to everyone as her armor transforms into her Heaven's Wheel armor.

"Right!" Wendy, Gray, Juvia and Mirajane said.

"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray shoots a huge ice lance at Povorsky.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy yelled before blowing huge amount of wind at the huge beast.

"Circle Sword!" Erza yelled as she swings her swords at Povorsky and they both spin rapidly.

"Water Slicer!" Juvia yelled as she swings her arms and shoots several water blades.

Mirajane then extends her hands. "Darkness Stream!" She fires a huge blast of dark energy at Povorsky and everyone's attacks on him help create a huge explosion. But when the smoke is clear, Povorsky still looks perfectly fine.

"Bwahahahahaha!" He laughed evilly.

"What?" Mirajane snaps her eyes open in shock.

"Impossible!" Erza added as everybody else look surprised as well.

"No!" Happy said.

"Eat this puny worms!" Povorsky smashes his fist into the ground, creating a landslide and huge blast of energy appeared below Mirajane. Mirajane screamed in pain as she gets hit.

"Mira!" Erza cried as everybody else got out of the way.

"Ah!" Charle screamed as she quickly flies to the side when a stalagmite falls off from the ceiling.

"Charle!" Happy said as he quickly flies over to her and wraps his arm around her before they both fly off.

After the energy subsided, Mirajane turns back to her human self and she collapses to the ground. She groans in pain as she tries to get up. Povorsky chuckled as he slowly walks over and stands above her.

"Goodbye!" He said as he brings his huge fists up into the air.

"No!" Takuto yelled. His chest then glows brightly. "Radiance over my body!" He charges over to Povorsky in fast speed and after Povorsky brings down his fists, Takuto now appears in front of him and blocks his fists with his swords, protecting Mirajane. He grits his teeth as he tries to hold back.

"This place is collapsing!" Gray yelled to everyone as huge chunks of rocks falls off from the ceiling. "We have to get out of here!"

"That's it!" Lucy said as Scorpio disappears and goes back to the Celestial Spirit World. "Let this place collapse and trap him here!"

"Good idea Lucy!" Erza said to her.

"What?" Povorsky said, widening his eyes in horror. "Then I must get out of here!"

"No you aren't!" Takuto yelled as his chest glows even brighter as pushes him back.

"Get out of my way!" Povorsky roared as he tries to fight back. Takuto turns his head and sees Natsu regain his consciousness and gets up from the ground.

"Natsu! Get Mira out of here!" Takuto said, still holding back Povorsky's fists with all of his strength.

"What?" Natsu looks up, then sees Mirajane lying on the floor. "Got it!"

The dragon slayer rushes over to Mirajane and carries her up and looks at Takuto. "What about you?" He asked.

"I will sacrifice myself." Takuto replied.

"What?"

"Natsu! It's the only way! I have to prevent him from getting out of this cave!"

"But Takuto!"

"Guys…please…tell Wako that…I love her…" Takuto closes his eyes and a tear rolled down his cheek. "Please…go…"

Suddenly, Natsu yells angrily as he goes over to Takuto and lights up his left hand on fire while carefully carrying Mirajane with his right arm. He uses his flaming left hand and help Takuto push Povorsky back.

"Natsu?" Takuto snaps his eyes open in surprise.

"I won't let you die Takuto! I will never let any of my friends die! Especially you!" Natsu shouted as he uses all of his strength to push the giant back.

Takuto stares at Natsu for a moment, before laughing. "You're right. What was I thinking!"

Both Natsu and Takuto yell out loudly as they use all of their magic inside their bodies to push Povorsky back. As they do so, Povorsky's veins start to enlarge.

"Wha…what's going on!" Povorsky said as he notices his veins.

"Do you see that Takuto?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah. Our huge amount of continuous magic must be driving his veins fast until they start to enlarge." Takuto said.

"Let's burst them shall we?" Natsu smirked.

"Let's!" Takuto added.

"NOOOOOOO!" Povorsky screamed in pain and agony as his veins continue to enlarge until they grew into huge bubble-like balls and as the cave collapsed, the balls exploded and the Dark Guild leader was no more.

* * *

><p>Lucy, Juvia, Wendy, Gray, Erza, Happy and Charle coughed as they all managed to get out of the cave in time. They turn their heads and see that the entrance is now blocked by huge rocks.<p>

"Natsu!" Lucy and Happy both yelled in horror.

"Takuto is inside too!" Wendy cried.

"No!" Gray said.

"Natsu…." Lucy fell to her knees and lowers her head.

"Lucy…" Erza said to her, sounding sad.

"Juvia's sorry…" Juvia said sadly.

"Natsu…please be alright…" Lucy uttered.

A few seconds of silence later, somebody smashes the rocks and bursts out of the cave. Everybody look up and widen their eyes. It was Natsu carrying Mirajane with his right arm and holding Takuto, who has his arm wrapped around him, with his other arm.

"Hey guys, we're fine." Natsu made a huge toothy grin.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried happily as she got up.

"Natsu!" Wendy shouted in joy as everybody laugh and run over to them. Natsu gently lays Mirajane on the ground.

"Will she be alright?" Erza asked.

"Don't worry, I can still feel her heartbeat." Natsu smiled.

Mirajane moans as she slowly open her eyes while Wendy kneels down next to her and heals her injuries.

"Did we win?" Mirajane asked.

"Yes, we did Mira-san." Lucy nods her head and smile.

Mirajane chuckled. "I knew we would."

"What about the gems?" Gray asked. Takuto smiled as he takes all three gems out from his pocket.

"They're fine." He said.

"You guys did it."

Everyone turn their heads and see all the souls of the villagers appear behind them, including Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Toshiro, Momo and Soi Fon.

"You have defeated the Furtuna and save the gems." Rukia smiled.

"Yes." Natsu said as he grabs the gems. "And now, I'll destroy them."

"What? No!" Soi Fon yelled as she runs over but it was too late as Natsu slams the gems onto the ground and smashes them into the pieces.

Soi Fon kneels down to the shattered pieces and shouted angrily at Natsu. "What have you done!"

"It was actually our intention all along." Lucy said to Soi Fon.

"If we destroy the gems, you guys no longer have to spend the eternity protecting them and they will never fall into the wrong hands again." Gray added as he stuffs his hands into his pocket.

Momo and Toshiro walk over to Soi Fon, kneel down and place their hands on her shoulders. "They have a point, Soi Fon." Toshiro said to her.

"With the gems destroyed, we no longer have to worry about them." Momo added.

Soi Fon lowers her head and remained silent for a moment before saying, "Yes, you're right."

Ichigo and Rukia walk over to the guild. "Thank you for avenging us." Rukia said.

"Now, will you put us to peace?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes. We will right now." Natsu nods his head.

* * *

><p>The villagers watched as the guild and Takuto are busy burning and destroying their houses and properties down. Every house was burnt to a crisp and every furniture was either burnt or smashed into pieces.<p>

An hour later, the job was done and everyone stand in front of the souls.

"Thank you for everything." Rukia said as all the villagers bowed down to them in gratitude.

Then, the guild and Takuto watched as the souls start to float into the air and head skywards.

"Farewell, everyone!" Momo smiled as she waved goodbye to them.

"Continue to live on!" Renji yelled.

"See you guys later!" Ichigo shouted.

"Goodbye!" Toshiro said.

Soi Fon looks down at them and smiled for the very first time in a long time. "Thank you guys…thank you!" She said.

Lucy suddenly remembered something and shouts to Rukia, "Rukia!" Rukia looks down at her. "If you meet a couple named Jude and Layla Heartfilia, tell them that…I love them both very much and I hope to see them again soon!"

Rukia smiled at Lucy and replied, "I will! Farewell, Fairy Tail!"

With that, all the souls disappeared into the afterlife. The guild and Takuto couldn't help but smile as the sky shines brightly.

"Now then, let's reopen the dam." Erza said to everyone.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, the guild and Takuto returned to the village. When they arrived, they see that all the villagers are cheering as they rush over to the wells, which are all flooded with fresh and clean water again. A man rushes over to them. It was the same man who was bullied by the knights this morning.<p>

"You must be the guild who helped reopen the dam!" The man said to them.

"Yes we are." Lucy smiled as she winks an eye at him.

"Thank you so much for helping this town. We really appreciate it!" The man bowed his head to them.

"Where are the knights?" Mirajane asked when she noticed the Rune Knights are nowhere in sight.

"They left with their captain. The Captain was so happy to see the dam reopen that he immediately left with his men on his boat. He told me to give you all his reward for helping him." The man then gave Erza an envelope and a bag of gold. "Now then, I must be off. I have to collect lots of water from the well so that my family and I can never go thirsty again for a month." He laughed as he turns around and runs off.

Erza puts away the bag of gold and opens the envelope. Everyone gathered around.

"What does it say?" Charle asked. They all read the letter.

_**Dear Fairy Tail,**_

_**Thank you all very much for reopening the dam. I know you guys still hate me for what I did seven years ago but I swear; I will change and become a better knight. The next time we meet, you will all see a different me and I really hope our future meetings will be more pleasant.**_

_**Doranbolt**_

Natsu sighed before he smiled a bit. "That Doranbolt…"

"There's more." Erza said, noticing that something else written at the bottom.

_**P.S.: I heard you guys got kicked out of the train during your ride to Alahorn. So I left something behind at the river.**_

Everyone look at each other in confusion.

"What does he mean?" Wendy asked.

Everybody then rushed over to the river and they were amazed by what they saw.

"Like I said…that Dorabolt…" Natsu said. In front of them was a medium-sized ship with Rune Knight colors and emblems.

The Fairy Tail guild cheered as they have found their alternate way of travelling to Alahorn. Natsu and Lucy turn to each other and embraced. Wendy jumps in joy while Happy and Charle both happily fly around her. Gray pumps his fist into the air while Juvia claps her hands. Mirajane and Erza both laugh as they wrap their arms around each other.

"This boat will definitely get us to Alahorn!" Lucy said.

"Well guys, it looks like my job here is done huh?" Takuto asked the guild.

"Actually Takuto, would you like to come along with us?" Erza asked. "We could use someone like you."

Takuto widens his eyes and his mouth agape. "You mean…"

"Yes. After what you did back at the cave, we need a strong ally like you." Natsu smirked. He extends a hand. "What do you say?"

Takuto turns his head to every guild member who are all smiling at him. He then breaks down into tears. "All my life…people stay away from me because I'm weird…but now, I've found people who actually want me to travel with them…" Takuto then wipes off his tears. He smirks as he points his finger upwards and strikes a pose. "I, Takuto Tsunashi, gladly take your offer!"

Juvia laughed. "Still energetic as ever."

* * *

><p>Later that night, the guild board the ship, ready to leave for Alahorn. Meanwhile, Takuto is carrying a backpack while Wako kisses his cheek.<p>

"Be safe, Takuto." Wako said to him.

"I will. We will meet again. I promise." Takuto smiled. He then turns around and boards the ship.

"Go Takuto!" Wako cheered as she pumps her fist into air.

After Takuto boards the ship, Erza shouts to Mirajane who is at the steering wheel, "Mira! Start the ship!"

"Let's go!" Mirajane said.

"Aye!" Happy cheered as everyone sails off to Alahorn.

Natsu and Lucy are both standing together at the starboard and they smile as they look up at the full moon, shining brightly in the sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah." Natsu chuckled. He turns to Lucy and said, "Lucy, no matter what happens, we will always be the best of friends."

Lucy turns to Natsu and smiled happily, "Yeah, friends."

Meanwhile, Juvia was standing a few feet away from the two. Juvia smiled and said, "Congrats Lucy-san." She then turns around and walks into the ship's cabin. She enters the cabin and sees Gray, Wendy and Charle sleeping at their beds. Juvia smiled dreamily at Gray. He looks so nice when he sleeps.

She sits on her own bed and digs into her pocket. She takes out a small locket with a gold chain. She opens it and sees a photo of her smiling happily as a child. There are three other people standing with her.

They were her parents and elder brother.

Juvia's eyes immediately turn watery as she stares at the photo. "Juvia wish she wasn't lonely like you, Lucy-san…"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in a dark room, a serpent hissed as he slithers over to a throne where is a woman is sitting on it. Her face and body is covered in the shadows and only her mouth is visible. The figure pats its head as the serpent crawls over to her.<p>

"Ah...Larsa, what message do you have for me?" The woman asked the serpent. The serpent then made a few hisses to her. "Ah, so the Dark Guild has failed to retrieve the gems. Incompetent fools."

The woman then puts on her mask and cape. After putting them on, she gets up from the throne and steps out of the shadows, revealing that she is wearing a red mask, red cape, red robes, black gloves and silver metal armor.

"Looks like I will have to find an alternative..."

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: And that's the end of the chapter and wow, it's a long one. Even longer than Chapter 7, heh. And after writing this chapter, I finally got my groove to write again. ^_^ I hope you guys enjoy it and read and review!**


	13. Secrets

**Sovereign: I would like to thank splitheart1120, sNoWaNgL, zeprincelini, Assault Godzilla for reviewing. Thanks guys. :)**

**_Chapter 12: Secrets_**

The next day, the Crimson Duchess finds herself standing in front of a man who is tall, muscular, has red eyes, long white hair and dressed in a grey trench coat, grey pants and black boots.

"Well, well, well…if it isn't the former master of the now dissolved Dark Guild, Oracion Seis." The Duchess said, placing her hand on her hips. "Brain…" She places a finger on her cheek. "Or wait…is it Zero?" The masked woman then throws her head back and laughed maniacally. "No matter!"

"Yes, the dissolution of my guild is unfortunate and I just barely survive Nirvana's explosion. But no matter, I shall rebuild my guild and bring it back to its former glory. The Dark Alliance shall rise again!" Brain/Zero yelled proudly.

The Duchess snorted and she gets into a battle stance as two metal spears magically appeared in her hands.

Zero smirked as he gets into a fighting stance as well. "Prepare yourself, woman! I shall send you to the afterlife!" Zero then disappears and within a second, reappears behind the Duchess.

Zero smirks evilly, thinking he has the opportunity, but suddenly, his eyes popped open and his mouth gape open. He looks down and sees that there's a huge slash going from his right shoulder to his left hip.

The Duchess chuckled evilly while Zero yells in pain and agony as he falls to the ground.

"H-h-h-h-h-h-how?" Zero asked. He widens his eyes in horror as the Duchess stands above him. He yells in pain again as the Duchess stabs his liver with her left spear. The Duchess throws her head back and cackled evilly.

"That's it! Yell louder! I always loved that sound!" The Duchess said in amusement.

"W-w-w-what do you want from me?" Zero asked.

The Duchess kneels down and looks down at his face. "Your magic…" The Duchess tosses her right spear away and covers Zero's face with her right hand.

What follows was an agonizing scream of pain that rang out for all to hear.

* * *

><p>That night, inside a small inn located in a peaceful town, Darren, Judith, Estelle, Carl and Jellal smile as they look at all the food they bought with some of their gold they were rewarded with. On the table were bowls of rice, a fried turkey, smoked sausages, a grilled salmon, bowls of soup, a bowl of apples, strawberry cream buns, chocolate chip cookies and meat dumplings.<p>

"Well guys, we deserved it so…let's dig in!" Darren said.

"Awesome!" Carl said before he immediately head straight for the cookies.

"Hooray!" Estelle squealed before she picks up her bowl of rice and uses a fork to take a piece of salmon.

"Haha, slow down everybody." Jellal chuckled before taking some dumplings. Now that the world believes that Jellal is dead, he no longer has to travel around while wearing a hood to hide his disguise, and he loves it.

"Indeed. Jellal is right, guys. There is food for everyone here." Judith laughed before taking a sip of water from her cup.

"Okay!" Carl smiled before eating his cookie.

"Got it!" Estelle said before she starts eating her rice and salmon

Darren takes a drumstick from the fried turkey and takes a huge mouthful out of it. "I zay, dis yis rweally goowd." Darren said with his mouth full.

"Darren! Don't talk with your mouth full!" Judith scolded, turning to him.

Darren swallows his food and said, "Sorry, my bad."

Jellal takes a smoked sausage and swallows the entire thing.

"Wow, you got a huge appetite, Jellal." Carl pointed out.

Jellal swallows his food and turns to Carl. "Yeah, been a long time since I eat anything this good."

Everyone present then turn to Estelle when she starts giggling and wipes away a tear of joy from her eye.

"What's the matter, Estelle?" Judith asked.

Estelle stops giggling and takes a deep breath. She smiles at everyone. "Sorry guys. It's just…it's a long time since I had dinner with such a huge group." Her eyes softened. "Like a family."

"Estelle…" Carl said in concern.

"Don't worry Estelle. We're your new friends now." Darren said before turning to everyone. "And we'll always be at each other's side, right?" Judith, Jellal and Carl nod their heads in agreement.

"Darren, Judith, Jellal…because I trust you all enough, then it's time I reveal a secret." Estelle said. Darren, Judith and Jellal widen their eyes, looking interested.

"Estelle!" Carl cried as he got up but Estelle holds her hand up at him. The boy sighed before sitting back down.

"Guys…" Estelle said before standing up from her chair. "I am Princess Estellise Sidos Heurassein, former princess of the Kingdom of Temza." Darren, Judith and Jellal gasped.

"Princess?" Darren uttered.

Estelle nods her head. "Indeed. Actually, I'm the third in line of the throne of the Kingdom of Temza. My grandfather was the king for many years…until the Demon Prince came…"

Carl noticed the glum expression on Estelle's face and he quickly got up and continued for her, "Estelle was only eight when it happened. She had no siblings and was the only grandchild of the royal family. Can you imagine, losing your entire family and homeland at such a young age?" He curls his hands and tightens his fists. "That is why I want the Demon Prince to pay. I may be young, but I will not rest until I have his head." Darren widens his eyes in horror. "I will make him pay for hurting Estelle and being the cause of the disappearance of my family."

Estelle narrows her eyes at Darren, Judith and Jellal. "And I want to make him pay for destroying my homeland and killing my family. When we reach Temza, I wish to go Alahorn's castle so that I can go up against the king and reclaim my kingdom back. I want the great kingdom of Temza to rise up again and continue my family's lineage and legacy."

Suddenly, Darren gasped in pain when he felt a sting at his right arm. Estelle and Carl's anger immediately disappeared and everyone turn to Darren in concern.

"Darren, are you alright?" Judith asked in concern.

Darren turns to the krityan and said, "Yeah…I'm fine."

"Should I take a look at your body?" Estelle asked.

"It's alright." Darren said as he stands up from his chair. "Sorry guys but…please excuse me." He gently pushes his chair back in and everyone watched as he walks out of the room.

Carl turns to everyone and shrugged. "Guess if you got to go, you gotta go."

Estelle turns to Jellal and noticed that he is glaring at her.

"What?" Estelle asked.

* * *

><p>Darren closes the door after he steps out of the inn. He looks around and sees that the streets are empty. He sighed in relief and he quickly walks down the pavement until he sees a dark alley.<p>

Darren enters the dark alley and after making sure he is alone, he takes out his sword and holds out his right arm. He proceeds to gently make a small cut on his arm.

"Come on out…you nuisance…" He turns his arm to the side, letting drips of blood splash onto the ground.

After he drops at least seven droplets of blood, the blood on the ground then join together by itself. Darren puts his sword away and leans against the brick wall as he watched the blood form into a human being. It was a woman, with long lime green hair, golden eyes and dressed in black sleeves, a sleeveless black dress with a silver trident symbol on it, white shorts and white boots.

The woman moaned as she stretches her arms. "Finally, I'm out of your damn body." She said, dropping her arms and looks at Darren tiredly. "Can you imagine staying in your blood cells for ten straight years? It's sooooo boring."

"Cut the crap, C2. What is it you want to talk about?" Darren asked sternly while folding his arms.

C2 chuckled. She puts her hands behind her back and smiles slyly at Darren. "Oh Darren, just how long are you going to keep your secret?"

Darren turns his head away and said, "I'll tell them when the time is right."

C2 laughed. "What right time? Didn't you hear, that purple kid said that he will kill you as soon he finds out you're the Demon Prince, infamous destroyer of Temza. And that princess isn't going to forgive you either for destroying her kingdom and her entire family."

Darren turns to C2 and glares at her with an ugly scowl. "Shut up, you dirty bitch." He gets off from the wall and points his finger at her face. "If I hadn't met you and your damn mistress, none of this would have happen! You are one half of the bloody curse who ruined my life!"

"Whoa whoa…calm down big boy." C2 said, holding her hands up. "That's not all I want to say. I also would like to ask, how many more companions are going to be burdens to you?"

"What do you mean?" Darren asked icily, lowering his finger.

"Like that elf girl." C2 shrugs.

"She's not an elf. She's a krityan."

"Whatever. This Krityan. She reminds you of _her_. Doesn't she?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Come on." C2 smirked as she places her hand on her hip. "Don't be shy. I know you like her. I can feel your heartbeat pumping every time you look at her."

Darren sighed and he folds his arms again. "Yeah, she does." He said sadly when a vision of a blonde haired girl smiling at her appeared briefly in his mind. "That is why this time; I don't want anything bad happen to her."

"Awww, how sweet." C2 smiled. "Still, I wonder what will happen to her if you were to tell them your secret. I mean, will the princess, that purple boy and the criminal wizard hate her too because she's been hiding the truth for you?"

Darren grits his teeth and snaps furiously at the lime green haired woman. "Don't you dare say anything about her!"

C2 sighed as she folds her arms and shakes her head. "Darren, Darren, Darren, sooner or later, you will tell them the truth. Haven't you heard? Only the truth will set you free."

"Says the girl who killed the locust mercilessly." Darren said.

"What? Still thinking about that?" C2 asked, looking up at him.

"I was about to turn around and fight with him until you overtook my body and activate the demon form."

"Geez Darren, you're as dumb as a bag of manure. Which is the more logical thing to do? Fight against a monster and waste your energy, or just simply kill him right away? Besides, he's a cannibal. He doesn't deserve mercy from humans." C2 said.

"You only did that because you're scared that I will die from the fight and you can no longer stay in my body afterwards." Darren said. "Look C2 you are just blood, not a real human being at all. We only activate the demon form together when I need it, not for mindless violence. And since I'm your master, you will follow me."

C2 snorted and turns her head away. "Whatever, master Leong."

"I'm done talking. Now get back in." Darren said, holding his bleeding arm up.

C2 smirked as she turns back to him. "Very well." She walks over to grabs his bleeding arm. "But remember Darren, who would you be right now…without me?"

C2 turns back into red liquid and goes back into Darren's body by going through his cut. The bleeding blood also goes back in and when all of it is back in Darren's arm, the cut closes itself like a zip and disappears.

"Tch." Darren said before walking out of the alley and heads back to the inn. He closes his eyes as he reminisces what C2 said to her. Even though he hates her, he has to admit, she's right. There's no way he can hide the truth any longer. But if Estelle, Carl and Jellal were to find out that he is the creature that they despise the most, what's going to happen to him and Judith? Will they no longer be his friends and he would have to fight them? No. He doesn't want to lose any friends. If he were to fight with and force to kill them for his survival, he would be lonely all over again, just like ten years ago. And what about Judith? Would they hate her too for hiding the truth for him? Like a burden? And will Judith hate him too if she becomes hated too?

Darren grits his teeth and tightens his fists in frustration. He doesn't know what to do. At all.

"_It's official."_ He thought somberly to himself. _"I'm trapped."_

* * *

><p>After Darren returns back into the inn, they all continued their dinner quietly. A few hours after their dinner, they all go to their respective rooms and sleep. Darren, Jellal and Carl sleep together in the same room while Judith and Estelle sleep in their own.<p>

Judith was fast asleep in her bed but Estelle on the other end, still remained awake while lying on her bed. She narrows her eyes, still thinking of what happened earlier.

"_What?" Estelle asked, noticing that Jellal is glaring at her._

"_Estelle, I know how much you want to kill the Demon Prince. I know your pain and hunger for vengeance. But I want to ask, what will vengeance solve?" Jellal asked._

"_What do you mean?" Estelle asked._

"_If you kill the Demon Prince, will your family come back to life?"_

"_No." Estelle said. "But still, if I kill the Demon Prince, my family will finally rest in peace."_

"_True, but not you. If you kill him, you will turn into a monster yourself and you shall live on your life in with even more hatred." Jellal said._

"_What?" Estelle asked, now sounding a bit furious, which is a rare emotion for her._

"_Like they say, if you kill the person you, the cycle of hatred shall live on."_

"_Shut up!" Estelle snapped, slamming her fists on the table, causing Judith and Carl to jump in surprise. "What do you know? You're just a former criminal!"_

"_True. But I had never walk down the path of true evil." Jellal said calmly as he folds his arms and leans back on his chair. "Think about it Estelle, will your family rest in peace if they see their daughter turning into a demon herself?"_

_Estelle opens her mouth, trying to say something back at Jellal. But she couldn't think of anything. So she closes her mouth and sits back on her chair quietly. "I'm sorry for my outburst." She said apologetically._

Estelle lets out a sigh after finished reminiscing what Jellal said to her. She closes her eyes, rolls over on her bed and goes to sleep.

"_What does he know?"_

* * *

><p>The next day, everybody pay their stay in the inn and leave. After walking through the town, looking for transportation, they managed to find a merchant who is heading his way to Alahorn. The merchant kindly let them ride on the back of his cart and take them to the royal city.<p>

Everybody sits or lies peacefully on the huge pile of hay as thy and the merchant their way to city. Finally, after a few hours, they arrived at their destination. Darren, Judith, Estelle, Carl and Jellal widen their eyes and agape their mouths in awe as they see the huge city being surrounded by massive walls in the distance.

"There it is, people. Our destination." The merchant said to them.

Darren muttered under his breath. "Alahorn…"

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: And I shall end it here. Stay tune for the next chapter and read and review!**

**C2 is from the anime Code Geass. Yeah I know, her name is actually C.C. but her name is supposed to be pronounce as C2.**


	14. Alahorn

**Sovereign: Oh my gosh...more than 20 days without an update! I'm so horrible. XD Sorry guys, work really have kept me busy but no more delays! It's time for another chapter! :D**

**I would like to thank splitheart1120, Zeprincelini, Assault Godzilla, anon and sNoWaNgL for reviewing!**

**Replies to anonymous reviews:**

**zeprincelini: Ikr? Thanks for the review.**

**anon: Thanks for the review! And guess what? It's happening!**

_**Chapter 13: Alahorn**_

"WHHHHOOOOOAAA!"

Natsu, Lucy, Juvia, Mirajane, Wendy, Takuto and Happy all yelled in awe when they arrived at the harbor of Alahorn, which causes some nearby people to look at them in confusion.

Alahorn looks incredible. It is a huge city that is completely isolated from the rest of Earthland because of the surrounding walls that protect the kingdom and castle which prevents invaders from coming in and its own citizens from leaving. Still, the kingdom continues to make trading routes and allowing visitors and tourists from other nations.

The seven look around the harbor in awe. There are many other huge ships being docked and there are many warehouses and stores in harbor which creates a lot of business and commotion. Beyond the harbor are tall buildings that can be viewed from a distance. The six wondered that if the harbor is this huge and beautiful, who knows if the places beyond it will look even bigger.

"This place looks beautiful!" Lucy said smiling.

"Indeed." Wendy nods in agreement.

"Alright guys, we can look around later. Don't you guys remember that we have a job to do?" Charle said as she, Erza and Gray go over to them.

"But Juvia wants to see the rest of the city!" Juvia whined.

"Yeah! We can do the mission later! Let's go for some exploring first!" Natsu added.

"I want to see if this city has lots of fish!" Happy said.

"I want to take pictures of this place for Wako!" Takuto said.

"I wonder if they sell lots of beautiful clothing here!" Lucy said.

"But guys!" Charle scolded.

"It's okay Charle. I wish to look around this place too." Erza smiled.

"But-"

"WOOHOO!" Everybody else burst cheers.

"Erza-san is on our side!" Lucy said, pumping her fist into the air.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Gray said.

Charle gapes her mouth open as she watched the guild and Takuto ran off to go explore around Alahorn. She sighed before summoning her wings and lies after them. "Wait for me!"

* * *

><p>"Alright, you may enter." The Rune Knight said before giving the merchant back his permit.<p>

"Thank you." The merchant bowed his head to the Knight. He then continues driving the wagon with Darren, Judith, Jellal, Estelle and Carl sitting behind. The Knights open up the entrance and the merchant drives his wagon through the gates and enter the city. The five gasp and widen their eyes.

"We're at Alahorn. At long last." Carl said.

"Never thought I would enter this kingdom one day." Judith said.

Darren closes his eyes for a moment. _'Can't believe I'm back here. After ten years…'_ He reopens his eyes and everyone looks around. It was a very bustling city with wagons driving down the roads, people doing their daily routines, and several stalls are lined up and children are playing and running on the pavements. There are also many tall and huge buildings, something Darren, Judith, Estelle and Carl haven't seen in a long time. Alahorn sure is a huge and magnificent city.

Suddenly, the merchant stops his wagon next to the pavement.

"Well, this is where I stop. Hope you guys had a great ride." The merchant said to the five with a smile.

"Thanks again." Judith said before paying the merchant a hundred gold coins, as promised.

The five got off the wagon and onto the pavement.

"So, where should we go now?" Jellal asked.

"Where else? Let's go to Temza!" Carl replied.

"Guys…" Darren spoke up, causing everyone to turn their heads to him. He looks uneasy as he grabs his right arm. "How about we just stay here in Alahorn for now?"

"What? Why?" Carl asked.

"Because well…I used to live in Temza too. But I don't wish to go back there right now. If we go there straight away, it will bring back a lot of bad memories for me." Darren said, sounding sad.

Judith sighed and walks up to Darren. "I agree." She said as she places a hand on Darren's shoulder. She turns to Estelle. "Is that okay, Princess Estelle?"

Estelle sighed sadly. "I felt the same way too." After a while, she perked up and said, "So how about we go around Alahorn? Maybe we shall find something interesting here."

"Alright then. Good idea." Judith smiled and nods her head.

"I agree." Carl added.

"Same here." Jellal said. Darren remained silent and nods his head.

"Let's go our separate ways for now. We shall meet again later!" Estelle said before turning to Carl. "Carl, come along with me."

"Sure thing, your Highness." Carl nods his head.

"See you later guys." Estelle said as she and Carl waved their hands at Darren, Judith and Jellal. The three waved back before the two turn around and leave.

Jellal turns to Darren and notices that the gloomy expression still remained on Darren's face. "Are you alright?" He asked him.

"I'm fine." Darren replied, turning to Jellal.

Jellal folds his arms and narrows his eyes. "There's no need to lie Darren. It's obvious to anyone with eyes that you are not fine."

Darren sighed and places his hands on his hips. "Yeah, it's no point in bothering to try to lie to you." He said.

"Darren, you're feeling dull lately. Do you want to talk about it?" Jellal asked.

"Not really." Darren replied.

"Jellal, I don't think it's a good idea right now." Judith said to Jellal.

Jellal sighed and tilts his head to the side. "Fine. But I would like to say this to you, Darren. It's best that you tell me what is bothering you sooner or later. If you keep hiding what hurts you inside of you, you will hurt yourself even more. And if you hurt yourself even more, you will also hurt those around you. When you're ready, you can always come to me." Jellal then adjusts his cape before turning his back to them. "I would like to take a stroll around the city for a while and buy some supplies along the way. See you guys later."

"Alright. See you." Darren said as he and Judith waved goodbye to Jellal. Jellal waved back and he puts a hood over his head and walks off.

After Jellal is out of sight, Judith and Darren turn to each other.

"Darren, I think it's time you tell them the truth." Judith said.

"But Judith…you don't understand." Darren shakes his head.

"But Jellal is right. Telling the truth will stop the emotional pain inside you."

"But what about Estelle and Carl? What happens if they find out that I'm the one who destroyed Temza? They will immediately try to kill me."

"But didn't you say that you didn't mean to destroy Temza? Doesn't that mean you didn't destroy it on purpose? Did someone else made you do it?"

Darren narrows his eyes and turns his head away. "Yes, you're right. It was someone else who made me do it."

Judith gently grabs his chin and turns his head to face her. "Then tell them the truth. Tell them the destruction wasn't your doing."

"You don't understand!" Darren said, grabbing Judith's wrist and lowering it. "Someone else made me do it but I am still part of it!"

Judith lowers her head and went silent. Darren widens his eyes and panicked. He might have hurt her feelings. "Judith…I-"

"I'm your master right?" Judith asked.

"What?" Darren gapes his mouth open.

"I'm asking you a question Darren." Judith looks up, glaring at Darren.

Darren closes his mouth ad nods his head. "Yes. You're my master and I'm your servant."

"Then I command you that you will tell them the truth…tonight. Only the truth shall set you free." Judith said solemnly.

Darren stayed silent for a moment before closing his eyes. "Yes…my master…"

* * *

><p>"Oh my! This is so beautiful!" Lucy smiled as she holds up a blue dress with diamonds. She, Natsu, Juvia, Mirajane, Wendy and Charle are now in a clothing shop together. Lucy is amazed at the beautiful dresses and clothes the shop sells while Natsu…well…he's frowning and grabbing his stomach right now as he starts to feel very hungry.<p>

Natsu groaned as his stomach growled again. "Lucy…I'm really hungry. Can we shop later?"

"But Natsu! This shop is having an hourly sale! Meaning that there is a new sale every hour and only last for sixty minutes! I have to buy any one of these dresses now or their prices will go back to their original!" Lucy cried. Natsu sighed sadly while Lucy turns her head back to the dresses and looks through them in awe. "Oh wow! This one has a shade of pink that I really like!"

"Lucy…" Natsu said, now sounding solemnly.

"Yes?" Lucy asked, turning back to Natsu.

"You really don't want me to date with Lisanna, huh?" Natsu asked.

"Natsu?" Lucy said, lowering the dress she is holding.

"Sorry Luce. It's just that…I like Lisanna…but I like you too." Natsu said. "I like Lisanna because she is my childhood friend…but you are my best friend, so I like you too…"

Lucy lowers her head and frowned. _'What have I done?'_ She thought. She couldn't believe it. Now that she has confessed her love to Natsu, he now doesn't know who to choose, Lisanna or her.

Suddenly, Natsu's stomach growled again. Lucy turns to Natsu, who laughed. "That's okay. I can think about that later. The sooner I helped you with your shopping, the sooner we can leave this shop and find a place where we can eat!"

Lucy chuckled. "Yeah, you're right. Here, hold these dresses for me. I think the others need some help."

"Okay." Natsu said before Lucy passes him the dresses she wishes to buy. Lucy then turns around and walks over to Juvia, Mirajane, Wendy and Charle who are at the other side of the shop.

"Does this dress look good on me guys?" Mirajane asked Juvia and Wendy as she holds up a sleeveless white dress with dark blue ribbons.

"Whatever dress you think it's good and it's in your size, you can go ahead and buy it!" Wendy said smiling.

"Juvia agrees with Wendy-san!" Juvia said, nodding her head.

"Okay then. Sorry I asked too many questions. I hadn't go shopping for a long time you see." Mirajane chuckled.

"It's okay, Mira-san." Juvia smiled.

"But remember, we can't spend too much of our money!" Charle said to them sternly.

"Don't worry Charle! We won't!" Wendy smiled at her.

"Hi guys!" Lucy greeted them as she walks over.

"Hi Lucy-san!" Mirajane greeted back.

"What is it, Lucy?" Wendy asked.

"Oh nothing." Lucy smiled at her and then turns to Juvia. "Juvia, is it okay if I had a word with you?"

"Um, okay." Juvia said.

"See you guys later." Lucy said to Mirajane, Wendy and Charle as she grabs Juvia's wrist.

"Okay!" Mirajane and Wendy waved their hands at her. Lucy then pulls Juvia and the two walk through the shop.

"Where do you think Lucy is taking Juvia to?" Charle asked.

"Not sure." Wendy shrugged.

"Lucy-san, what's going on?" Juvia asked as she and Lucy go over to the dressing rooms. Lucy found an empty room and she and Juvia both enter inside and close the door.

"Lucy-san? What are Juvia and you doing here? Juvia and you don't have any clothes to change into." Juvia asked Lucy.

Lucy sighed. 'I mustn't let Juvia suffer the same mistake as me.' She turns to Juvia and glances at her. "Juvia, do you really love Gray?"

Juvia immediately blushed crimson when she asked that. "Um….Juvia-san? Love…Gray?"

"Juvia, I know you do." Lucy said to her solemnly.

Juvia frantically nods her head and said, "Yes! Juvia-san loves Gray-sama! With all of her heart!" Then, she stops and looked puzzled when Lucy grabs her hands. "Lucy-san?"

"Then go ahead." Lucy said to her. "Confess your love to Gray now."

"What?" Juvia widens her eyes.

"Please Juvia. Do it before it's too late. You will never find another person you will become attracted to than Gray." Lucy said with a weak smile.

Juvia glances at Lucy for a while, before a smile appears on her face. "Yes!" Juvia said, bowing her head. "I will!" With that, she gave Lucy a hug before she turns around and leaves the dressing room.

"Go Juvia. Make yourself happy." Lucy said, tears forming in her eyes.

* * *

><p>Gray and Erza are walking together through a market where several stalls are lined up in straight rows and shopkeepers yelling at the people to come buy their merchandise. While they are walking, Erza is holding a paper bag filled with cakes in one of her arms and using her other hand to hold up a cake and she takes a bite out of it.<p>

"Erza, please don't eat too much. Otherwise, you won't be able to eat lunch with the others later." Gray said to her in concern.

Erza gulped before turning her head to Gray. "But Gray, let me tell you. Never in my life have I eaten such perfect quality cakes! These really are the best I have ever eaten!" Erza looks up and tears formed in her eyes. "They're so good that I almost feel like I'm in heaven! I wish I could stay here and eat their cakes forever…"

Gray sweatdropped and said, "You're not serious, aren't you?"

However, both of them aren't watching what's in front of them and they accidentally bumped into someone.

"Oh!" Erza said as she and Gray back away from the person. "We're so sorry! We got carried away-" She looks up and couldn't finish what she say. Instead, as soon as she sees the person she and Gray bumped into, she managed to take a quick look at his face before he covers his face with his hood and she could have sworn she sees a red tattoo on the left side of the man's face. A tattoo that reminds her of…

"Jellal?" Erza gasped.

"What?" Jellal said to her, not showing his face.

"Is there something wrong sir?" Gray asked Jellal.

"Nothing. Of course not." Jellal said to him.

"Sir." Erza asked, making Jellal turn to her. "Are you by any chance…Jellal?"

"Jellal? What are you talking about? Haven't you heard the news? Jellal is killed a few days ago." Jellal said to her.

"What?" Gray said, widening his eyes.

"Yes. He was killing innocent people in a forest but then, a group of people managed to find him and kill him. He is now dead." Jellal explained.

"I…see…" Erza uttered.

"Yes. I'm sorry but I better be going now." He said before walking away. Under his hood, Jellal frowned. _'I'm so sorry Erza. But it's not the time for me to show myself to you yet.'_

"I can't believe Jellal is dead." Gray said, narrowing his eyes. Suddenly, he widens his eyes when Erza gave him her bag of cakes. "What?"

"Gray, help me carry my bag. I'll be right back." Erza said to him.

"What? Where are you going?" Gray asked.

"I need to find a bathroom." Erza replied.

"Oh…" Gray said.

"Yeah. See you." Erza turns around and walks away.

"I hope she can find one in a crowded place like this." Gray said to himself.

"Gray-sama!"

"Juvia?" Gray turns around and sees Juvia running over to him. Juvia then stops in front of him, bends down, places her hands on her knees and pants heavily. "Juvia, what's up?"

After catching her breath, Juvia looks up and hugs Gray.

"Gray-sama, Juvia-san has been wanting to tell you this." Juvia said to him.

"What is it?" He asked.

Juvia backs away and stares into Gray's eyes. "Juvia…Juvia loves you."

Gray gapes his mouth open upon hearing that. "Juvia really do Gray! Juvia wants to spend the rest of my life with you!" Juvia said with tears in her eyes.

"Juvia…" Gray managed to say out.

"Gray-sama…is there something wrong?" Juvia asked.

"Well…it's just…I guess I kinda like you too." Gray said to her. "I mean, you have a very weird behavior. But personally, I still think you're a nice girl."

"Really?" Juvia clasps her hand together and smiled widely at him.

"Yeah but…"

Juvia's smile immediately disappeared. "But?"

"Yeah but…" Gray sighed heavily. He knows this isn't easy. "I don't think I have the same feelings for you."

Juvia gasped in horror. Gray watched as her body starts trembling as if Juvia felt her insides are frozen. Gray panicked. What has he done?

"Juvia, I'm really sorry! I-"

"Gray, it's…not fair. I…I-I really love you. But…it breaks my heart…that you couldn't feel…the same way for me. It's as if…y-y-you never understood…my feelings for you…at all. Even after all…we have been through…" Juvia managed to say between harsh sobs.

"Juvia I-" Gray tried to say. Juvia looks up at him with puffy red eyes.

"I couldn't believe I had wasted my life…falling for you!" Juvia wailed in despair.

"Juvia! I'm sorry! I-" Gray couldn't what he has to say again as Juvia pushes him back before she turns around and runs away heartbroken. "Juvia…" Gray said, now feeling hurt himself as well. "I really am sorry…" He then fell to his knees and places Erza's bag down on the ground. "I can't believe I just did that."

* * *

><p>Jellal walks into a deserted alley. He stops in the middle and removes his hood, revealing his head. He sighed heavily. "I know you are following me…Erza…" He turns around and sees the crimson haired girl standing in front of him.<p>

"Jellal…" Erza said as she tightens her fists and tears formed in her eyes. "I knew it was you…"

Jellal frowned at her. "It's been a long time…"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at the Alahorn royal palace, two guards are standing next to each other at a guard tower. They both look down and see a man with long hair riding on a horse and making his way to the palace.<p>

One of the guards turns to the other. "Open the gates! Prince Yuri Lowell has returned!"

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: As usual guys, stay tune and read and review!**


	15. Living On

Sovereign: It's been a month! A month of no update! DX

I would like to thank Assault Godzilla, sNoWaNgL, zeprincelini, splitheart1120 and anon for reviewing!

**Replies to anonymous reviews:**

**anon - It gets better in this chapter! ;)**

_**Chapter 14: Living On**_

After the guards open the huge gates guarding the Royal palace of Alahorn, Yuri rode pass them with his horse and enters his home.

"Atten hut!" The guard captain yelled as guards standing in both left and right sides salute by placing their fists onto their chests as Yuri rode pass them.

"Welcome home, your Highness." The captain said to Yuri.

"Thank you." Yuri smiled at the captain. He turns to the other guards. "At ease everyone, get back to your positions." The guards then turn around and go back to their posts while Yuri arrived at the stairway leading to the palace. He gets off of his horse and pats the back of his head.

"Stay here Lambert." Yuri said calmly to him. Lambert neighed in response.

Yuri walks up the stairway and sighed. It's been a long time since he is away from home and he's glad to be back and hope he can finally have time for some rest and relaxation.

Two guards open the doors for him and Yuri enters his home, only to be greeted by his mother, the queen consort, and a princess.

"Welcome home, my son." His mother smiled at him.

"Hello mother." Yuri said as he embraced her. He then backs away from her and turns to the princess, who has curly hair as a mole on his right cheek. "Who's she?"

"Ah yes. Yuri, I like to introduce you to your fiancée, Princess Carla of Iceberg. She has been chosen by your father to be your future wife." His mother said to him.

"Hello Yuri." Carla said, smiling seductively at him. "It would be an honor to be your future wife."

Yuri rolls his eyes in disgust before shoving Carla away and walks over to the staircase leading to the upper level.

Carla snorted as she rubs the area of her dress where Yuri shoved her at. "Why how rude!" She said in disgust.

"Yuri Lowell, that behavior of yours is not tolerable here!" His mother scolded in a calm tone.

"Sorry mother, but I'm not interested in love right now." Yuri said, not turning to them, as he walks up the stairs.

"But how are you going to take over your father's position in the future without a consort?" His mother asked in concern.

"That's not important right now." Yuri replied. When he reaches the top, he heard a laugh and turns his head.

"I'm not surprised you didn't like her. She doesn't look very trustworthy." A man, dressed in a special light blue and shiny silver armor to distinguish himself from the other guards, smiled at Yuri.

"Yuri smiled back at him. "You can say that again, Major Flynn Scifo."

"It's been a while, Commandant and Prince Yuri Lowell." Flynn said as he salutes to him.

"At ease, Flynn. You don't have to do that. You're my childhood friend." Yuri said.

"But still, I am your second-in-command." Flynn said as he lowers his arm down. "By the way Yuri, while you were gone, I punished Captain Guradana because he was showing disrespect to our new recruits."

"I see. I'll deal with him later then. Where's my father?" Yuri asked him.

"In his throne room, as always." Flynn folds his arms.

"Good." Yuri nods his head. "I have to report to him now."

"I must warn you though. He isn't very happy right now." Flynn said solemnly.

"Why?" Yuri asked in confusion.

"You'll find out soon enough." Flynn said. Yuri frowned a bit before walking past him and head to the throne room.

* * *

><p>"Your Highness, our archers are now fully armed with Dead Wave arrows." A man with blonde hair, dressed in purple and wears a golden mask said to the king while kneeling down on one knee.<p>

"Very good. With your new alchemy, the other kingdoms will now fear my army even more. I know I can always count on you, Relius." The King of Alahorn, who is an old man with a long white beard and dressed in black and gold robes and a dark red cape, said to him while sitting on a huge chair.

Suddenly, the doors slowly opened, revealing Yuri.

"Ah, my beloved son, you have returned." The King said. Relius got up and steps away as Yuri walks over to his father. He then bowed his head and kneeled down on one knee.

"Father, I'm happy to say our Battle of Enca Island is a success. The undisputed territory is now under our control." Yuri said.

"Excellent, another colony conquered." The King said as his lips twitched as if he's smiling.

"Father, I've heard from my second-in-command that you are upset. How come?" Yuri asked, looking up at him.

The King frowned and said, "It's been some time since the Demon Prince has been resurrected. My men and the Magic Council haven't found him yet but I know that he will be coming back to…" His hands twitched in fear. "To…"

"To kill you, isn't it Your Highness?" A woman standing next to him said. The woman has black hair, tied to a bun and wears glasses and a brown jacket, red shirt, black belt, brown skirt and long red boots.

The King closes his eyes and sighed. "Yes Cornelia, my loyal vizier."

"The same Demon Prince that tried to destroyed our kingdom ten years ago?" Yuri asked.

"Yes, my son." The King said.

"Don't worry, I'm sure with Relius' and Cornelia's alchemy and me, as our army's commandant, you will be safe, my father." Yuri bowed his head.

"Yes my son. But still, we must remain vigilant." The King said. "Any other news you wish to report my son?"

"No." Yuri simply said.

"Then you may leave."

Yuri nods his head before getting up, turning around and leave.

"Your son is a very loyal and hardworking solder, Your Highness." Cornelia said to the King.

"Indeed." The King said. "Cornelia, the Demon Prince is guaranteed to come to me and have his revenge. I can't die right now. I've worked so hard in taking over Alahorn and I have so much left to conquer in a lifetime. You must swear to me that you will protect me at all costs."

"Yes, I will." Cornelia bows her head.

"Me too." Relius said, bowing his head as well.

* * *

><p>Yuri enters his room. He sighed in relief as he finally get to have some rest. He immediately go to his bathroom and removes his armor. He puts on his casual black outfit and pants and brown boots and gets out of the bathroom. He goes over to the window and sits down. He turns to the sky and enjoys himself watching the beautiful view of the city.<p>

Then, he frowned and closes his eyes. He tries to forget the events that happened at Enca Island. But he couldn't. He grits his teeth as he remembers one event that happened.

_**Flashback:**_

_Yuri walks over to his Captain. "Your Highness, we rounded up these people as we suspected them for being associated with the enemy forces!" He gestures Yuri to the men, women and two children kneeling down on the ground with their heads down and the knights are aiming their arrows at them._

"_Please! I swear I'm not working for anyone!" one man cried._

"_Take me, but don't take my children's lives away!" A mother begged while her children who are next to her wailed in despair. Yuri widens his eyes at them._

"_What are your orders?" The Captain said to him._

_Yuri closes his eyes and sighed. "Let them go."_

"_What?" The captain asked._

"_We have already conquered this town. What's the point of keeping and executing prisoners? Just let them go." Yuri said to his captain solemnly._

_The Captain salutes and orders his men. "Let them go." Yuri watched as his men goes over to the people and untie the ropes. The people then got up and walk away while the mother wraps her arms protectively around her children. The woman took a glance at Yuri. He nods his head to her before she walks away with her children._

_**End of Flashback**_

Yuri reopens his eyes and look up at the sky. He frowned and let out a sigh.

_"Why do I still show signs of weakness?"_

* * *

><p>Erza and Jellal walk over to each other. Jellal was about to hold up his hand to wipe off Erza's tear, but Erza quickly slaps Jellal across his face.<p>

Jellal turns back to Erza. "Yeah, I knew this would happen."

Erza lowers her hand and said, "That's for lying to me that you are dead earlier."

"Sorry." Jellal said sadly.

Erza sighed. "So Jellal, how did you escaped?"

"I was about to be executed by the Magic Council, until Ultear and Meredy showed up." Jellal explained.

"Ultear and Meredy?" Erza said.

"Yes. After that, we formed our own guild called the Crime Sorciere. We dedicate ourselves in fighting against evil and Dark Guilds. Since then, I have been taking down many Dark Guilds and I also dedicate myself into stopping Zeref."

"I see." Erza places her hands on her hips. "Jellal, have you regain your memories?"

"Yes." Jellal nods his head. "I remembered now Erza. I remembered what happened at Tower of Heaven, where I almost sacrifice you and torture your friends. I even killed one of them."

"Simon…" Erza muttered.

"Yes." Jellal said.

"Erza…" Jellal kneeled down before her. "Kill me."

"What?" Erza widens her eyes at him.

"Kill me now." Jellal said, curling his hands into fists. "Before I caused any more pain to anyone, you must end my life."

Erza grits her teeth and tightens her fists. "You know I won't do that!"

"What?" Jellal looks up at her. "But death is the only way to redeem myself from my sins!" His eyes became watery. "If I die, I will only cause more pain and death! If I don't die, I'll only continue to walk on this world in shame!"

Immediately after Jellal finished his sentence, Erza slaps him across his face again. "This time, that's for saying such nonsense." Erza said as she couldn't fight her tears anymore. She kneels down to Jellal. "Jellal, you may not accept what you have done but what will death solve?" Jellal widens his eyes. "Jellal, if you wish to redeem yourself, the only way is to continue living on and never repeat your mistakes!"

"Erza…" Jellal muttered. Erza then places her hands on his shoulder.

"Jellal…I know you can do this. The way you are acting right now isn't the Jellal I knew many years ago." Erza said as fresh tears are now rolling down her cheeks.

Jellal wraps his arms around Erza's back. "I'm sorry I upset you…again." He said.

"Jellal…" Erza muttered before both of them close their eyes and kiss. As their lips are locked together, they let out all of their passion for each other, never wanting to let go and they stayed there for nearly a minute.

"Jellal?"

Erza and Jellal immediately snap their eyes open and broke their kiss when they heard the voice. They both turn around and see Carl and Estelle standing outside while holding paper bags filled with stuff they have bought. They both look extremely amused by what they've seen.

"Carl! Estelle!" Jellal yelled, now blushing crimson red. "How long have you guys been standing there!"

"Estelle, did you see what Jellal did?" Carl asked her, pretending he never saw anything.

Estelle smiled at him. "Nope! Not at all." She chuckled, pretending she never saw anything as well.

Erza and Jellal turn to each other and chuckled nervously.

"So, these are your new friends?" Erza asked with a small smile.

"Yeah…" Jellal laughed, scratching the back of his head.

"Jellal, guess what? Carl and I have found a hotel to stay in. Wanna join us?" Estelle asked the blue-haired mage.

"Sure." Jellal said. After Carl and Estelle leave, Erza and Jellal both got up together. "Would you like to join us, Erza?" He asked her.

Erza smiled and nods her head. "Of course." She takes his hand. "This time, I will be at your side…always."

"Thank you…Erza." Jellal smiled back. They both walk together out of the alley and follow Carl and Estelle from behind.

"_I'm never letting you go this time, Jellal. Ever..."_

**END OF CHAPTER**

Sovereign: And I have finally finished this chapter! I have to say, I enjoyed writing the final part of this chapter. C: Hope you guys enjoyed it and stay tune for the next chapter!


	16. No More Hiding

**Sovereign: I would like to thank GoldenRoseLuceTanya, Assault Godzilla, zeprincelini, splitheart1120, sNoWaNgL and two anonymous reviewers for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks guys!**

**Replies to anonymous reviews:**

**anon 1 - Thank you! :D**

**anon 2**_** - **_**Here's the next chapter. Can you spare me from punishment now? T^T**

_**Chapter 15: No More Hiding**_

Cornelia and a crimson-haired woman dressed in a revealing dark red dress are standing face to face at the corridor of the Alahorn palace.

"I want you to find the Demon Prince. Here, eat this pill." Cornelia said as she holds up a blue marble-like pill. "It will give you the magic ability to track down the Demon Prince."

"How can I tell the person I'm looking at is the Demon Prince?" The woman asked.

"When you use your ability, if you see a person glowing blue, he or she is a magic user. If the person's glow is red however, he isn't just a magic user, but also the Demon Prince." Cornelia explained to her.

The woman smirks and laughs at the same time. "Understood, Mistress Corningston." She takes the pill and puts it into her mouth.

"Don't fail me now…Flare Corona."

* * *

><p>"Gray!" Lucy cried as she, Mirajane, Charle, Happy, Wendy and Natsu run over to Gray after finding him leaning against the wall of a bakery, frowning deeply.<p>

"Gray, have you seen Juvia?" Mirajane asked in worry.

"Woohoo! Well done Gray, you found a place to eat!" Natsu said, looking through the bakery window. Lucy, Mirajane, Charle, Happy and Wendy immediately gave Natsu cold glares, causing him to go back to the matter at hand. "Um yeah! Gray, did Juvia come over to see you?"

"And where's Erza? Wasn't she with you?" Wendy asked.

"Erza, I'm sure she'll be fine. But Juvia…" Gray sighed sadly. "I broke her heart and she ran away." He said. Everyone gasped.

"Where did Juvia ran off to?" Happy asked.

"I don't know!" Gray shouted as he grasps the sides of his head. "I can't believe I made this happen!"

"Gray, save your guilt for later. We need to find Juvia now!" Mirajane said.

"Hey guys."

Everyone turn their heads and see Takuto walking over, now dressed in a red t-shirt with a white star and white pants. "What's going on?" He asked them.

"Takuto, where have you been?" Lucy asked looking peeved.

"Oh, I bought this new t-shirt and pants. Cool huh?" Takuto smiled, spreading his arms out, showing his new clothing.

The girls and Happy sighed. "Look, now it's not the time to be standing around. We have to find Juvia." Charle said.

"What? What happened?" Takuto asked.

"I told Juvia to go over to Gray. But a few hours later, she never returns and now she's missing." Lucy explained.

"Then we must find her! Who knows what danger she might get herself into!" Takuto said.

Mirajane groaned. "That's what we were thinking too."

"Then let's go find Juvia now." Gray said grimly as he lifts up his head. "It's my fault for making her ran away. I have to make up for my mistake."

"What about Erza?" Wendy asked.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. She can always take care of herself. We'll worry about Juvia right now. Let's start our search now." Charle said.

Lucy and Happy then grab Natsu by the back of his shirt, pulling him away from the bakery window. "Hey!" Natsu yelled.

"Come on Natsu! We must find Juvia!" Happy said.

"But we haven't eaten anything yet!" Natsu whined, swinging his arms frantically and his feet dragged through the floor.

"It's not the time! Use your Dragon smell to find Juvia!" Lucy shouted.

"BUT I'M HUNGRY!"

* * *

><p>While walking down the pavement, Darren takes a cookie out from Judith's paper bag and munches it. "Mmm, these Alahorn-baked cookies sure taste great." Darren said while eating his cookie.<p>

"Yes, indeed." Judith smiled, lowering her head.

Darren turns his head and notices this. They both stop and Darren asked, "Anything wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just that, it's so relaxing that we are walking together through this city with peace and quiet." Judith said.

Darren sighed. "Yeah. I never had peace like this in a long time too."

Judith lifts up and turns to Darren. "Darren, how was your life ten years ago?"

"Ten years ago?" Darren asked. Judith nods and he lowers his head. "Well, it was like any old life. I was a respected soldier, Temza was a great place for me to live in…" Darren's eyes grew cold. "And I had wonderful friends…"

"Where are they now?" Judith asked.

"I…I don't know…" Darren muttered. "And after my friends are gone, I lost my reputation too. I pretty much lost everything really."

Judith smiled and takes Darren's hand. "Darren," He looks up at her. "Whatever happens in the past, you must forget and leave it behind. At least you now have me. And Carl, Estelle and Jellal. No matter what happens. We are all here for you."

Darren smiled back at the krityan. "Yes, you're right."

"_Oh how cheesy." _C.C. said inside him.

"Oh quiet." Darren turns his head away from Judith and said softly.

"Darren?" Judith said, looking puzzled.

Darren turns back and said, "Oh nothing! I thought I felt a fly on the back of my head." This causes him and Judith to both laughed gleefully while C.C. groaned inside him.

"_Not funny, prince." _C.C. said, knowing who he was referring to when he said 'fly'.

They both continue walking down the pavement until they heard wailing.

"What was that?" Darren asked the Kirtyan. Both he and Judith turn their heads to the alley next to them. They slowly walk into the alley cautiously. When they arrived at the dumpster, they see Juvia sitting next to the brick wall and sobbing unhappily.

"Are you alright?" Judith asked Juvia. Juvia wipes off her tears and looks up at her.

"W-W-Who…are you?" Juvia asked the two.

Both Darren and Judith kneel down. "I'm Darren Leong." Darren said to her.

"Judith." Judith nods her head.

"Oh…Juvia is my name." Juvia said, still sniffing with tearstained eyes.

"Why are you crying?" Darren asked.

"Ooooohhh…" Juvia immediately buried her face onto her knees and sobbed uncontrollably again.

"Hey, it's okay. Everything will be fine." Judith said and grasps her arm.

Juvia looks up again, wipes off her tears and turns to Judith. "Judith-san?"

Judith smiled at her and comforts her by patting her arm. "Now then, you haven't answered Darren's question. Why are you crying?"

"Juvia is crying because someone rejects Juvia." Juvia said as tears roll down her cheeks.

"I see." Darren said. He grasps Juvia's other arm and he and Judith pull her up from the ground. "Look, it's not safe to be in a place like this. How about we all go outside and have some fresh air?"

Juvia slowly nods her head and the three walk out of the alley.

"Juvia doesn't know if she can go on…" Juvia said, sniffing.

Judith smiled at her and pats her back. "It's okay. Sometimes life is going to hit us hard with a brick, but don't lose faith. I'm sure you will fall in love with another person."

"But Juvia doesn't want to fall in love with another person, Juvia only loves Gray…" Juvia sobbed.

"So that's his name." Darren said. "Still, don't lose hope. You have to go on with your life somehow."

Judith sighed and gave Juvia a hug. "Do you feel better?" She asked.

Juvia let out a sigh as well and replied, "Sort of."

"There she is!"

Darren, Judith and Juvia widen their eyes and turn to see Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Takuto, Wendy, Mirajane, Happy and Charle coming over.

"Juvia!" Lucy cried as she spread out her arms.

"Lucy-san!" Juvia cried and embraces Lucy. She wailed unhappily as Lucy gave her a warm hug. Darren and Judith couldn't help but smile warmly.

"Juvia?" Gray said. Juvia lets go of Lucy and turns to him.

"Oh, Gray-sama…" Juvia said, looking upset.

"Juvia, look. I'm sorry about what I said." Gray said in remorse. "I really didn't want to upset anybody, even you."

Juvia hesitated at first, but she doesn't want to hold a grudge on Gray, the person she loved the most. She turns to Lucy, who gave her an encouraging nod. Juvia turns back to Gray and with a step forward, she gave Gray a forgiving hug.

"Thank you." Gray murmured with a small grin as he embraces back.

Lucy, Wendy and Mirajane then turn to Darren and Judith.

"Thank you so much for taking care of our friend." Mirajane said with a bow.

"It's no problem at all." Judith grinned.

"I'm glad Juvia is safe." Lucy said with a smile before turning to Natsu. "Isn't that right, Na…Natsu?" Lucy looks puzzled when she notices Natsu's confused expression.

Natsu steps over to Darren and gave him a glare.

"Ummm….is there something wrong?" Darren asked, feeling uncomfortable.

"Wha..what's going on?" Judith asked, looking very concern right now.

"Natsu? What's going on?" Gray asked as he and Juvia turn to him. Wendy, Happy, Mirajane, Charle and Takuto all look concern as well.

"Who are you?" Natsu asked, tightening his fists.

"Me?" Darren asked, looking very uneasy right now.

"You don't smell like a normal human being. Who are you?" Natsu asked again.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried.

Darren panicked. "I…I…"

Suddenly, Takuto gasped and immediately turned around. "Look out!"

Everyone immediately turn their heads and saw a long strand of hair coming towards them.

"AAAH!" Lucy and Wendy both scream as everyone quickly got out of the way and the hair crashes onto the ground, leaving a very huge crack.

Everyone coughed until the smoke is cleared. "Is everybody okay?" Natsu shouted.

"Yes!" Lucy immediately replied.

"Juvia too!" Juvia said.

"Yes!" Happy said.

"Yes I am!" Gray shouted. Natsu turns to Mirajane who creates a huge black barrier over Charle, Wendy and Takuto. They all nod their heads.

"Judith!" Darren shouted as he quickly crawls over to Judith who is lying on the ground. He gently turns her body over and sees that her eyes are closed. "Judith! Are you alright?"

Judith slowly opens her eyes and uttered, "Darren?" Darren sighed in relief.

Everybody turn their heads when the woman lands behind them. Her hair returns back to her and the woman made a loud cackle as she leans backwards.

"Who are you?" Natsu demanded angrily.

Flare leans forward and looks at Darren with a huge evil grin on her face. Darren looks uneasy seeing her.

"I finally found you…_Demon Prince_."

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: DUN DUN DUNNNN! Stay tune and read and review!**


	17. Time to Face Destiny

_****_**Sovereign: I would like to thank GoldenRoseTanya, sNoWaNgL, splitheart1120, Guest, Assault Godzilla and zeprincelini for reviewing. Thanks guys!**

**Replies to anonynmous reviews:**

**Guest - Here's the next chapter then. Enjoy! :D**

_**Chapter 16: Time To Face Destiny**_

Everybody present widen their eyes in horror as the words that just came out from Flare's mouth rang inside their heads. They all turn their eyes to Darren.

"Did she say…_Demon Prince_?" Lucy uttered.

Juvia glances at the man who just helped him a few moments ago. "He…is the _Demon Prince_?" She mumbled with eyes as wide as dinner plates.

Darren turns to every Fairy Tail member. His eyes widened and his fingers start twitching. It's over. He couldn't believe his nightmare has become a reality. Other people besides Judith now knows his secret identity as the Demon Prince.

"No…it can't be…this can't be happening!" Darren cried.

"Now…" A malicious smirk appeared on Flare's face. "It's time for you to die." Flare uses her hair and her hair strands charge towards Darren. Darren turns to Flare and within a second, the strands are tied around his arms. Flare then does a spin, swings her hair and throws Darren to the building behind her.

Darren smashes through the building, leaving behind a huge hole.

"Darren…" Judith uttered as she slowly opens her eyes and gets up from the ground. She could barely see Flare jumping into the building and going after Darren. A while later, she watched Darren flew out of the hole and being tossed over to another building. This causes her to snap her eyes open and scream in horror. "DARREN!"

Darren groaned in pain. As the smoke clears up, he is stuck against the wall of the second floor of the building he's at and there is a huge crack behind him. He slowly falls off from the wall but as he plummets through the air, Flare flies over to him again and slams her fists against his abdomen. Darren gasped for air and Flare delivers another punch to his face, sending him back to the ground and land at where the Fairy Tail members are still laying at.

Everybody cover their eyes and turn their heads away as Darren lands and creates a huge cloud of smoke.

"DARREN!" Judith screamed again. She watched as Flare lands in front of Darren. She tosses her head back and laughs evilly.

"Is this the power of the Demon Prince?" Flare asked as she looks down at Darren, who is groaning in pain and agony. She then grabs Darren by his neck and lifts him up. "Huh, I was expecting a big challenge. How disappointing."

"Please! Don't hurt him!" Judith cried to Flare as tears are now forming in her eyes.

Flare snorted as she ignores Judith's pleas. "I shall now kill you…slowly…"

Darren closes his eyes and hangs his head in defeat. He couldn't fight back because his will to live on and fight immediately vanished when Flare revealed his secret identity. He gave out one last sigh before Flare ends his life.

"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"

Suddenly, Flare snaps her eyes open in surprise and turns her head to see a huge blast of fire coming towards her. "What the-"

She quickly lets go of Darren and dodges away from the blast. The blast ended up at a nearby automobile and it exploded.

Flare growled angrily and turns her head to the person responsible for that blast. It was Natsu, walking over to her with his fists tightened and a huge scowl on his face.

Natsu growled, his voice quivering with rage. "LEAVE…HIM…ALONE."

Darren widens his eyes at Natsu. Is he really going to help him?

"Why? Why are you helping him! Didn't you heard what I said? He's the Demon Prince! The one who caused the destruction of Temza and killed millions!" Flare yelled.

"Yeah, I have no idea why I'm helping him either." Natsu chuckled at his little joke. But then, quickly glare at Flare again. "But still, he doesn't deserve a quick tragic death."

Flare then turns her head around and sees Lucy, Gray, Wendy, Mirajane and Takuto walking over to her and surrounding her in a circle with Natsu. Juvia joins in as well and stands next to Darren, who is still lying on the ground.

"Stay down until we take her out. Then I will deal with you." Juvia said to Darren with a scowl. Darren gasped for a minute, and then nods his head to Juvia.

"Happy, Charle, get that woman out of here." Natsu said to the exceeds.

"Right!" Happy and Charle both said in unison before flying over to Judith and grab her by her arms.

"Come with us!" Happy said to her as he and Charle starts dragging her away from the fight scene.

'No! You don't understand!" Judith cried as the two exceeds pull her away. "Darren is still over there!"

Flare growls angrily at her surrounding enemies for a moment, but then she laughs maniacally again. "Good! I guess my fight isn't disappointing after all!"

"Juvia-san!" Lucy yelled.

"Right!" Juvia said and the two girls stood close to each other and clasp their hands together. Immediately, Juvia's water magic swirl around them. "UNISON RAID!" The two charge at Flare with great speed. Flare quickly dodges it but jumping into the air.

"Hahaha!" Flare laughed. "Is that all you-" Suddenly, Juvia and Lucy fly over to Flare into the sky with their Unison Raid and hits her at her chest, sending her flying further into the air.

Lucy and Juvia lands back on the ground safely. "Nope." Lucy smirked, answering her question.

Mirajane, now in her demon form, flies over to Flare. She yells as she slams her huge demon fists onto her belly and sending her back to the ground below.

Flare screams as she plummets through the air. Gray is right below here, amring himself with a huge ice cannon.

"Ice Make Cannon!" Gray yelled and he shoots several ice rockets at Flare. Flare turns around and blocks the rockets with her arms, but the blasts are too powerful for her to handle.

"Radiance over my body!" Takuto yelled, now armed with his dual Star Swords, glows brightly as he flies over to Flare and he kicks her stomach with his knee, causing her to gasp for air. Takuto then uses the hilt of his Star Sword Emeraude and delivers a powerful blow to her right cheek, sending her to the ground.

As Flare plummets through the air, Natsu and Wendy run over to her.

"Are you ready Wendy?" Natsu asked as he lights up his right fist with huge amounts of fire.

"Ready!" Wendy replied.

"FIRE DRAGON-"

"SKY DRAGON-"

Suddenly, Flare's eyes snap open and her teeth grits tightly. She isn't going to let these punks get the better of her! She turns her head to Natsu and Wendy and shoots her hair starnds at them. Her hair quickly tied Natsu and Wendy's arms, restraining them from using their attacks.

"What the?" Natsu said.

"I can't get out!" Wendy yelled, trying to get out of the tight grip of Flare's hair.

Flare lands on the ground with a huge smirk on her face.

"Natsu! Wendy!" Lucy cried as she and Juvia run over to them. But Flare turns to them and also uses her hair to grab Lucy and Juvia by their arms.

"Argh! Let me go!" Lucy cried.

"Ugh! Juvia can't get out!" Juvia said.

"Lucy! Juvia!" Natsu shouted.

Mirajane, Gray and Takuto quickly go over to them.

"Ah-ah-ah! I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Flare said to them with an evil smirk as she tightens her grip on Natsu, Wendy, Lucy and Juvia, causing all of them to scream in pain.

"NO!" Gray cried in horror.

"Let them go!" Mirajane shouted.

"Then stand down!" Flare snapped back.

The three hesitate for a minute, until they decide to follow Flare's orders. Gray puts away his ice cannon, Mirajane goes back to her normal human self and Takuto lowers his Star Swords and they magically vanished.

Flare smirked at this. "Good." She then tosses Natsu, Wendy and Juvia over to Gray, Mirajane and Takuto and the three slam against them and send all of them sprawling through the ground.

The six people groan in pain as they get up and they all widen their eyes in horror as Flare still has Lucy with her.

Lucy screamed in pain as Flare's hair is now wrapped around her neck and she is lifting her up into the air.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouted in horror.

"Let her go!" Gray yelled.

"Yeah, I was originally going to let her go. But I'm sick and tired of not being able to kill anyone for a long time now. So I guess I should kill someone right now. Like her!" Flare's smirk widens as she tightens her grip on Lucy. Lucy tried to scream, but she couldn't. Her fingers started twitching and her eyes are rolling back.

"Lucy-san!" Wendy cried as tears form in her eyes.

"Please! Let her go!" Mirajane added.

"Don't do this!" Juvia shouted as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Lucy-san!" Natsu just watched in horror as Flare is squeezing the life out of Lucy's body. His eyes are now filled with tears. "Please! I beg of you!" Natsu yelled horrified. "DON'T KILL HER!"

Suddenly, someone ran past Flare and cuts her hair off. Flare widens her eyes in horror as her beautiful hair is being cut off while Lucy passes out as she falls to the ground with Flare's hair now loosen from her neck and arms.

"NOOOOOO!" Flare cried hysterically as she grabs her hair. "My hair! My beautiful hair!"

"**If you had let her go, I wouldn't have done that."**

Flare looks up, widens her eyes and gapes her mouth open when she sees Darren, now in his demon form. Both of his arms are red with sharp claws and his eyes are golden.

"Arr…ar…are you…" Flare asked, shaking in fear.

"**Yes." **Darren replied.** "I am the Demon Prince."**

Darren charges over to Flare in incredible speed. Flare quickly uses her hair to create a barrier and defend herself but Darren's blow was too powerful and his fist sends her sprawling through the ground.

Natsu, Juvia, Gray, Mirajane, Wendy and Takuto all watched in awe.

"I don't believe this…" Gray said.

"Is the Demon Prince…helping us?" Juvia uttered.

Natsu gulps and nods his head. "Yeah…he is."

Darren turns to them and said, **"Get your friend out of here. I'll do the fighting."**

"What?" Mirajane said. "But we can-"

"**Or I'll kill you guys as well."**

Everyone widen their eyes in horror before quickly getting up from the ground and go over to Lucy while Darren continues fighting Flare.

Flare lifts her head up and gasped when she sees Darren above her, ready to slam his fist on her. Flare quickly rolls away and he smashes his fist onto the ground. There is now a huge crack where Flare was originally lying at.

Flare quickly gets up and breathes heavily. "I'm not backing down yet!" She said. She shoots her hair at Darren and creates a huge wolf form with it. "HAIR SHOWER-WOLF FANG!"

The wolf howls as he charges at Darren. But Darren simply swings his demon fist and smashes the wolf away. The wolf howls in pain as he magically disappears.

Flare gasps in horror as she backs away as Darren continues to walk over to her emotionless.

She grits her teeth angrily and creates a huge fist with her hair. "I'm not going down! Not yet!" She throws her hair fist at Darren and the fist lands on him. Flare smiles at first, thinking she got him, but then she gasps when she realizes that Darren has his demon hand grabbed onto her fist.

Darren, using his strength, then brings Flare up into the sky. "No! What are you doing?" Flare cried.

"**Ending you." **Darren said and he crashes flare's hair fist with his demon hand. When the fist disappears, Flare plummets down to Darren and she screams.

Darren then swings his left demon hand and sends her flying over to a lamp post. Flare slams onto the lamp post face first and she tumbled onto the ground.

"**Time to end this." **Darren said. But suddenly, he heard a yell. Darren turns around and sees natsu charging at him with a flaming fist. Darren quickly holds his demon hand in front of him and blocks Natsu's attack, but the Dragon Slayer still pushes his fist against Darren's hand.

"**You really are a fool." **Darren said.

"It's not right for you to kill her!" Natsu yelled. "Sure she tried to kill my friend, but you can't kill her!"

"**Then if I kill you, no one can stop me from killing her." **Darren said. Natsu widens his eyes for a minute, then narrows them again and yells as he continues pushing his fist against his hand and his flames got bigger.

"It's true! YOU REALLY ARE A MONSTER!" Natsu yelled.

* * *

><p>Inside Darren's body, both Darren and C.C. are standing face to face in a completely black room. C.C. widens her eyes in horror. "Darren, why are you doing this? This isn't like you!" She said.<p>

Darren said to C.C. emotionlessly. "But C2, didn't you say that enemies don't deserve mercy?"

"What?" C.C. said. "I was just referring to the locusts, not actual humans!"

"But Flare isn't an actual human now is she? She tried to kill that girl." Darren replied.

"What has gotten into you?" C.C. asked, now breathing in fear.

"What's happening to me, C2? Simple." Darren said as he turns his head skyward and curls his hands into fists. "If my life is going to be ruined for a second time, mind as well face destiny."

Sweat rolls dwon from the side of C2's head and she watched in horror as a slight smile appears on Darren's face.

"I'm going to live and die as a villain."

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: Are you guys feeling shocked? I know you are. Stay tune and read and review!**


	18. Fairies VS Demons

**Sovereign: I would like to thank Lightmoon54, Assault Godzilla, GoldenRoseTanya, zeprincelini, splitheart1120, Adveea and sNoWaNgL for reviewing. And wow, 101 reviews...I hadn't reach that number in a long time. XD Thank you all for your wonderful reviews guys! ^_^**

**Here's the next chapter everyone. Enjoy!**

_**Chapter 17: Fairies VS Demon**_

Darren and Natsu are now standing a few feet away from each other. Natsu is breathing heavily but the fire on his fists is still burning due to his rage while Darren stood still, glaring at the Dragon Slayer.

"You really do live me no choice." Natsu said.

Darren snorted. **"A dragon slayer fighting a demon? The outcome is obvious!"**

In incredible speed, both Darren and Natsu charged at each other and yell. When the two reach each other, both of them slam their right fists at each other's faces and due to their powerful blows, both of them are sent back sprawling through the ground.

Both of them quickly got up and Natsu charges at Darren. He swings his fists at him but Darren dodges them by moving side to side. Darren then grabs Natsu's arm. Natsu widens his eyes as he sees Darren about to bring his other arm. He's going to break his arm.

Natsu growls and quickly uses his other hand to punch Darren in the gut. Darren yells as he backs away in pain. Natsu then grabs Darren's head, brings it down and smashes his face with his knee.

Darren backs away again and sees that his glasses are broken. He takes them off, drops them onto the ground and crashes it with his foot.

"**You are getting me annoyed!"** Darren snapped.

"Bring it on!" Natsu yelled back.

Darren charges at Natsu and he punches him on his left cheek. Natsu was about to back away but Darren quickly grabs him by the neck and delivers several punches to his abdomen. After that, he delivers an uppercut and punches the bottom of Natsu's chin, sending him flying to the air.

Natsu lands back on the ground with a thud. He groans in pain as he tries to get back. Darren quickly pushes him back down by placing his foot on his chest.

The Dragon Slayer growls as he grabs Darren's ankle and gave it a twist. Darren yells in agony as he falls to the ground. Natsu gets up and grabs Darren's neck from behind. He lifts him up and sets his left fist on fire.

"I will end your madness!" Natsu shouted. Darren snaps his eyes open and punches Natsu's chest with his elbows. This causes Natsu to drop Darren. He turns around and punches Natsu across his left cheek, sending him stumbling to the ground again.

"**Nothing will stop me!"** Darren lets out a yell as he runs over to Natsu but suddenly, a female demon flies over to him, grabs him and flies him into the air.

"**What is this?"** Darren asked. He looks down at the female demon who is flying him into the air. It was Mirajane, in her demon form.

"Why don't you pick on someone in your own kind?" Mirajane asked icily.

"**Tch."** Darren said. When the two are above the clouds, Mirajane lets Darren go and punches him in the face. Darren was send falling back and disappeared through the clouds.

"Too bad you couldn't fly." Mirajane smirked. But her sense of victory quickly disappears in seconds. Her smirk vanished when she sees something coming out from the clouds. Her eyes widen when a figure flies out from the clouds with two huge demon wings on his back. It was Darren.

"How did-" Before Mirajane could finish saying, Darren delivers a powerful punch to Mirajane's stomach. Mirajane gasped for air as she sends up further to the sky.

"**Who says I can't fly?"** Darren said. Mirajane halts and looks down at Darren with a dark glare. She yells as she flies over to Darren and delivers several punches at him. But Darren quickly blocks them all with his arms. After Mirajane's punching stop, Darren turns around and delivers a powerful kick to Mirajane's stomach again.

"Aaaarrrggghhh!" Mirajane yells as she is send falling through the clouds.

Natsu widens his eyes in shock as he watched Mirajane plummeting through the air.

"Impossible!" Natsu said. Then, Darren flies over to Mirajane and aims his demonic hand at her.

"**Demonic blast!"** Darren shouted and shot a huge beam of dark red magic at Mirajane. Mirajane yells in pain and agony as she gets caught in the blast and a few seconds later, she lands back on the ground with a loud thud.

When the smoke is cleared, Mirajane is back in his human form, her eyes closed and her beautiful dress torn to shreds. Behind her body was a huge crack on the surface. She lay on the ground motionless while Darren lands in front of her.

"Who's next?" Darren yells out.

"Take this!" Juvia yelled from a distance and shot several water bullets at Darren, who blocks them with his right demonic arm.

"**Is that all you got, wimp?"** Darren asked.

"Demon Prince…" Juvia growled, her voice quivering with rage. "JUVIA WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" She stops shooting and now uses her water whip. She creates a huge whip, bigger than her usual one, and slams at Darren.

Darren flies off and dodges the enormous water whip.

"**And why is that, human?"** Darren asked, now flying above Juvia.

"Because…" Juvia said angrily. But at the same time, her eyes are becoming watery. "You killed my family! Juvia, her father, mother and brother, are all originally from Temza! When you showed up, you destroyed everything Juvia cherished! Because of that incident, for the next few years, Juvia was so lonely and had to join a Dark Guild! You taken everything away from me! And now, JUVIA WILL MAKE YOU PAY!"

Juvia now completely turns into water and with all her rage, charges towards Darren.

"SIERRA!" Juvia shouted, her watery body now boiling up.

When Juvia is near Darren, she uses both her fists and delivers a water punch into Darren's gut, sending him further into the sky. Juvia charges at him again and creates a water lock using her watery body. Her watery body boils up, boiling Darren in high temperatures inside her body.

"Juvia!" Gray shouted as he runs into the scene and watches this display. "Juvia please! Don't overdo it!"

Juvia's humanoid form now appears above the boiling water lock. "HOW DO YOU LIKE IT DEMON PRINCE!" Juvia shouted. Suddenly, she gasped in shock when her water lock and body are becoming red.

"What's going on?" Juvia asked in horror.

**"That's it! Rage is my power!"** Darren yelled from inside the lock.

"What? NO!" Juvia shouted. Using his powers, Darren breaks open her water lock and turns to Juvia. He flies over to her and swings his left demonic fist at Juvia, hitting her back.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Juvia yelled in pain as she goes back into her human form and sends plummeting through the air.

"JUVIA!" Gray shouted in horror as he quickly runs over to Juvia. He managed to catch Juvia with his arms. His eyes widen in horror as he sees Juvia, with her eyes closed and her clothing rip to shreds.

"No! Juvia! Wake up! Please!" Gray shouted at her.

"Juvia!" Wendy cried as she runs to Gray and Juvia. "Gray! Put her down! I might recover her!" Gray nods his head and places her gently on the ground.

"Where's Takuto?" Gray asked.

"I told him to go get Erza!" Wendy said.

"Good idea!" Gray nods his head and turns back to Juvia. "Juvia! Wake up! We don't want to lose you!"

**"Is this really the power of Fairy Tail?"** Darren asked, spreading his arms out. Gray and Wendy both turn their heads to him and glared. **"Is this all you got?"**

"No."

Darren turns his head and sees Natsu, his entire body engulf in flames due to his huge amounts of rage and anger.

"I hadn't shown you all my power yet!" Natsu shouted. "And anyone who hurts my friends is my enemy!"

"**Give it all you got then!"** Darren yelled back. He lets out a yell as he flies over to Natsu.

"FIRE DRAGON's ROAR!" Natsu shouted and blows out huge amounts of fire with his mouth at Darren.

Darren smirked as the fire blast heads straight at him. He knows this is a blast he can dodge easily.

"DARREN!"

Darren widens his eyes and turns his head to the ground. He gasps in horror. Within just a second, all his uncontrollable rage and anger inside him and his thoughts vanished when he sees Judith standing below with a look of complete horror on her face.

"Judith?" Darren said.

Suddenly, the blast reaches him and Darren is caught in Natsu's dragon roar.

"NOOOOOOO!" Judith shouted. When the blast stops, Darren plummets through the air and lands on the ground with a huge thud.

"No!" Judith cried as she runs over to Darren.

At the same time, Natsu charges over to Darren's body. He must attack him again while he still has the chance. "Time to take you down, Demon-"

Suddenly, Judith appears in front of Natsu and spread out her arms, preventing him from going near Darren.

"What? What are you doing?" Natsu asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't go near him!" Judith shouted.

"Are you insane? He's the Demon Prince!" Natsu yelled. He was about to go to the side and continue going towards Darren, but Judith quickly draws out her spear and points at Natsu's throat. Natsu quickly stops and backs away.

"Don't go near him!" Judith demanded.

Natsu narrows his eyes. "So, you're working for the Demon Prince." He sets his right fists on fire. "Then you are my enemy as well!"

"NO!" Darren shouted. Natsu and Judith turn to him.

Darren groaned as he slowly gets up from the ground. His demonic eyes has turn back to normal and his wings have disappeared. "Leave her alone! She hasn't done anything wrong."

"What?" Natsu said as the flames on his right fist disappears.

Darren staggers up to his feet and turns to Judith with sadness in his eyes. "Judith…I can…I can explain…"

Judith frowned deeply and turns her head away. "Darren…" She grabs his left upper arm. "I thought you promised."

Darren's mouth gapes open when he remembered that night.

_Darren holds up the necklace and said to the cross, "God, I swear I will never commit another sin again. I will never walk down the path of evil. And I will make this a better world. This…I swear."_

Darren lowers his head in shame and sorrow. "I…I'm sorry." Natsu and Judith watch as Darren turns around. "Because of this…I will leave."

"Darren?" Judith said. Darren spreads out his demonic wings and flies off. "Wait!" The Krityan shouted as she reaches out her hand. But it was too late as Darren has fly off into the sky and disappeared.

"Miss." Natsu said to Judith and the Krityan turns to him. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't know you two are close to each other."

Judith sighed. "There's no need to apologize."

"What happened?" Gray asked the two as he goes over while carrying a still unconscious Juvia in his arms. Wendy and Mirajane, now woken up, came over as well. "Where is the Demon Prince?"

"He flew away." Natsu replied. "But you know guys; I'm starting to think that he isn't really evil."

"Really?" Mirajane asked.

"And I think this woman knows." Natsu gestures to Judith.

"Are you alright?" Wendy asked Judith as she goes over to her, grabbing her arm with her hands.

Judith uses her other arm to wipe off the tears in her eyes. "It's…it's okay." She said and made a sniff. "I'm fine." Wendy places one of her hands on Judith's back to comfort her.

"Where do you think he flew off to?" Gray asked.

Judith turns her head and sees a locket on the ground with her tearstained eyes. She goes over, kneels down and picks it up. She opens it, revealing a photo of Darren and a blonde-haired girl. Darren was in his Templar robes while the girl is dressed in a blue beret and blue and white uniform dress and the two are smiling, sitting together at a pond and holding hands. The girl has a golden ring around her right index finger.

More tears formed in Judith's eyes.

"He's going home…to Temza…"

* * *

><p>As the night falls, Yuri is still sitting at his desk, finishing writing his journal with a light-up candle next to him. After he finished writing, he smiles and closes his journal. He turns his head and before he could blow off the fire from the candle, he arched an eyebrow when he noticed something outside through his window.<p>

Yuri gets up from his chair and walks over to the window to take a closer look. At the bottom, he sees two guards talking at the warehouse and a few seconds later, they both close the warehouse doors.

'_What's going on? Shouldn't they be in their barracks by nine?'_ Yuri thought as he narrows his eyes. He then closes the window doors.

* * *

><p>The two guards look up at the castle and sees the light in Yuri's room disappears. "The prince is asleep." One of them said.<p>

"Good." The other one said. "Now, we can discuss our plans without any concern." The two guards smirked at each other before they walk off.

After the two left, Yuri slowly opens the castle doors and gets out of the castle quietly. He gently closes the door and quietly walks down the stairs. He then walks his way to the warehouse.

'_What were those two doing here?'_ He thought to himself. He slowly opens the warehouse doors and quietly walks inside. As soon as he steps in, he felt like vomiting and quickly covers his nose.

'_What is that god awful smell?'_He slowly walks further into the warehouse and looks at the crates stack around the place. He follows the source of the smell until he found a huge wooden crate where the smell is coming from. Taking out his sword, he uses it to slowly open the crate. As soon as he opens, his eyes widen in horror. There were dead corpses inside the crate!

"Cor…Corpses?" He said in horror. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. He turns around and gasped. Before he could react, a huge and fat guard smirked evilly and swings his mace across Yuri's head, knocking him out unconscious.

Four more guards appear and surround Yuri. Everyone present in the room except Yuri chuckled evilly.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: And that's the end and I personally think this is a sad chapter for Darren, don't you? :( And what are those evil guards planning to do? Stay tune for the next chapter and read and review!**

**And can anyone guess who's the blonde-haired girl in the photo, who was also referenced in chapters 5 and 13? Take a guess! :)**

**Hint: She's from a fighting game.**


	19. Old Friends

**Sovereign: Hey guys, sorry to say this but I won't be updating **_**'Erza Scarlet and the Chalice of Zeref' **_**in a while. Hold the phone; I didn't say it's cancelled. I will never forget that story and I promise I will never leave it unfinished. At the meantime though, here's another chapter of The Demon Prince. Enjoy!**

**I would like to thank Lightmoon54, GoldenRoseTanya, Assault Godzilla, zeprincelini, splitheart1120, and sNoWaNgL for reviewing!**

_**Chapter 18: Old Friends**_

Both Estelle and Carl's eyes widened with their expressions wide and dazed.

"D-D-Darren is…the Demon Prince?" Estelle managed to say out.

"Yes." Judith nodded in sorrow. "I…I'm sorry I never revealed it earlier." Everybody is now in the hotel which Carl and Estelle has book for the group. Judith, Carl, Estelle, Natsu, Erza and Jellal are all in one room where the krityan has revealed Darren's true identity while Lucy is being placed in another room. Wendy, Happy, Charle, Gray, Juvia, Mirajane and Takuto are accompanying and attending to her.

"I see." Jellal said calmly and folds his arms. "So that was how he managed to resist my dark magic back then."

Erza, who is sitting next to him, said, "But is it true that he still saved Lucy's life?"

Natsu nodded solemnly. "Yes. He saved Lucy from that woman. But for some reason, he tried to kill us for attacking him but this woman managed to calm him down." He gestures to Judith.

"Speaking of Lucy, will she be alright?" Erza asked.

Natsu's expression immediately fills with pain and sorrow. "She hasn't woken up yet. But Takuto says he can feel her pulse, so she will be fine."

"I can't believe this…" Estelle said, her hands curling into fists. Her eyes are also now filled with tears and she bit her lip furiously.

"Estelle…" Judith said in concern with her sad expression.

"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME HE'S THE DEMON PRINCE ALL ALONG!?" Estelle shouted angrily at Judith as she suddenly lifts her head up to the Krityan. Her tears are now streaming down her cheeks like rivers and her eyebrows furrowed.

Judith felt a pang of guilt and sorrow in her heart. She was so ashamed for not telling everyone the truth earlier. But she did it to help Darren. She kept the secret from everyone because she felt deep inside her heart; she knew that Darren can change for the better. She hoped that Darren will keep his promise he made to her and God forever that night. But still, she knew that secrets can't be kept forever and she can't use the others as puppets forever. And Darren will always feel internal pain if he continues keeping his secret. That is why she commanded Darren to reveal his secret to everyone, but not this way and getting other people outside her group involved.

"Estelle...I-"

"Don't speak Judith! You betrayed me!" Estelle yelled as she stood up. "You were hiding the murder of my family all along and you made me fell for your trap!"

"Estelle! Calm down!" Jellal shouted. Estelle's eyes widened as she turns to the blue-haired mage. "Judith may have a reason why she kept the secret from us! Besides, don't let out your rage and anger on her when she too is a victim of the attacks that happen in your captial!"

"Why shouldn't I?! She's an ally to that…that…_monster_!" Estelle snapped at Jellal. She paused for a moment, and then narrows her eyes. "Oh I get it. You don't want me to shout at Judith because you are siding with the Demon Prince too!"

"What?!" Jellal shouted, his eyes widening. "Don't get the wrong idea, Estelle! I'm not taking anybody's side right now until I get the truth!"

Estelle turns to Erza with a glare. "Erza! Why are you still siding with this criminal when he too has commited a huge crime in the past? He tried to destroy the Magic Council!"

"Because I forgive him Estelle! He has changed! And it's a complicated story but it wasn't even his doing in the first place!" Erza replied.

"You still forgive him even after he tried to destroy the Magic Council?"

"Yes! Because no matter how evil the crimes they committed in the past, people still have the power to change!" Erza then lowers down her voice and sighed with dull eyes. "And Jellal has done so."

"Erza…" Jellal said, his eyes softened.

"Well I'm not forgiving the Demon Prince no matter what and that's final!" Estelle yelled as she folds his arms and shut her eyes.

"Estelle…" Carl said in a frightening tone. He watched the whole thing. He watched Estelle letting out her anger and rage. It's true he also hated the Demon prince for killing her family and destroying her kingdom. But still, it frightens him to see the former princess of Temza letting out her anger and hatred.

Suddenly, the door opens, revealing Takuto. Everyone present in the room turn to him.

"Good news." Takuto said with a warm smile. "Lucy has woken up."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at the other room, Wendy, Happy, Charle, Gray, Mirajane and Juvia, who has now woken up and is covered with bandages are all gathering around Lucy, who is lying on a nice warm bed.<p>

"Lucy-san…" Wendy said in worry as everyone watched Lucy slowly opening her eyes. Then, Takuto, Natsu, Erza, Jellal, Carl, Estelle and Judith all entered the room and takuto quickly goes over to Lucy's side. He took out a small torchlight and shines the light into Lucy's eyes.

"Yes, that's it. Follow the light." Takuto said to Lucy as he slowly waves his torch side-to-side at her eyes. Lucy continues shifting her vision at the light until her eyes squint. Takuto then puts away his torch and Natsu quickly goes over to her side.

"Lucy-san, are you alright?" Natsu asked in extreme worry as he grasps Lucy's hand.

Lucy turns to the pink-haired Dragon Slayer and let out a sigh. "Natsu…I…"

Tears form in Natsu's eyes. The Dragon slayer choked out, "Lucy-san, I'm so sorry for not being able to save you."

"It's okay." Lucy gave a small smile. "At least I'm still alive right?"

"Lucy…" Natsu said, trying to fight back his tears as he stares into Lucy's eyes. "Lucy, you're my closest friend. I really don't want to lose you."

"And I don't want to die to make you feel upset over me." Lucy said.

Natsu then uses his other hand to stroke Lucy's hair. Gray, Wendy, Happy, Charle, Juvia, Mirajane and Erza all smiled at them.

"Lucy, I promise I won't let anybody hurt you ever again." Natsu said solemnly.

"Thank you, Natsu." Lucy nodded.

"It's good to know that you're alright." Takuto said. "But I suggest you should rest some more before going into battle again."

"Thank you again, Takuto." Gray said to him.

Judith then turn to the exceeds. "Hey guys." Happy and Charle turn to her. "Sorry that I push you guys away earlier. I didn't know you two are so light."

Charle chuckled. "Heh. It's okay. No hard feelings."

"So what now?" Juvia asked everyone present in the room.

"Let's go to Temza." Judith said. "I want to find Darren."

"Yes, and when we do, let's take him down." Estelle said icily, her eyes darkened.

"Estelle, what did I said to you before?" Jellal asked.

"It doesn't matter. I already swore to my family's graves that I will kill the Demon Prince." She said flatly.

"And then what? Consume your body and blind your vision with hatred in the process?" Jellal narrows his eyes.

"Shut up! Like I said, you're nothing but a former low-life criminal." Estelle said to Jellal. Jellal let out a frustrated sigh while everyone else in the room, especially Judith, is feeling uncomfortable.

"Estelle…this isn't like you." Carl said.

"Carl." Estelle turns to him. "Didn't you promise that with me that we will kill the Demon prince together?"

"Yeah…" Carl said softly. "But-"

"Then let's kill him together!" Estelle shouted as she places her hands on his shoulder. "Let's avenge our families!"

Carl's mouth gape open, trying to say something. But eventually, he hung his head down. "Alright."

"Well then, let's head to Temza." Lucy said. "I would like to meet the Demon Prince."

"And we shall take him down together." Estelle said to Lucy, turning her head to her.

Lucy's eyes narrowed and she shook her head. "No. I won't attack him yet. After all, he did save my life."

"But still, that's not going to let him slide off easily." Estelle said to her.

"Enough, princess!" Gray yelled. Estelle turns to the ice mage and glares at him. "No matter how evil he is, we will never kill him unless necessary."

Estelle snorted. "Now I see why Fairy Tail has lost its power over the years. Because you guys are too soft."

"Why you-" Gray was about to step forward towards Estelle but Mirajane quickly stops him by grasping his right arm tightly.

Gray turns to Mirajane, who shook her head to him. The ice mage sighed heavily and calm down and Mirajane lets go of his arm.

"If we are done wasting time, let us all head to Temza now. Everybody agreed?" Erza said to everyone in the room. After a brief silence, everybody in the room nod their heads solemnly. "Good."

Judith thought sadly, _'I hope you are alright, Darren.'_

* * *

><p>Darren is now walking through the woods. The only sound made were the sounds of his feet crashing the fallen leaves. He is now in Temza, once a thriving city and kingdom, now nothing but a deserted ruin site.<p>

"_How's does it feel coming back here?" CC asked him._

"What do you think?" He asked her with pain, guilt and sorrow in his eyes.

"_You know…looking back, I really didn't mean for this to happen." She said, sounding sadly._

"Now you are feeling sorry for your actions?" Darren asked, narrowing his eyes.

"_Darren, I-"_

"Silence." He said to her flatly. "Please."

Upon leaving the woods, right in front of him was Kalafina, the capital of Temza. There were huge walls surrounding a city to protect it from any enemy invasion. But sadly, they won't strong enough to resist Darren and CC's attacks. In front of Darren was where a huge pair of doors used to be which serves as the entrance to Kalafina. Those doors are now lying on the ground, suffering critical damage, allowing Darren to enter the city.

As Darren walks through the city, he examines the buildings. Many homes were either scorched or destroyed. Many houses and building are falling apart and plants and weeds overgrow them over the last decade. The roads are now covered with dust, ashes and dead leaves and abandoned vehicles, either burnt or damaged, are lying around as reminders of what happened during the fall of Temza.

Darren stopped when CC spoke up again.

_"Darren, let me out." CC said. "Let me see the destruction I made with my own eyes."_

"Very well." Darren draws out his katana and makes a cut on his right arm. Blood stream down his arm and when much amount of blood was splashed onto the ground, CC transforms into her human form while Darren sheathes his katana and quickly took out a bandage to wrap it around his arm.

CC widens her eyes in awe as she examines the destruction of the city. "What do you think?" Darren asked.

CC lowers her head in sorrow and said, "I never wanted this. All I wanted was a new body to live in and I couldn't control yours."

"And I never thought the blood that witch would donate to me is a living organism." Darren said.

"I was originally a normal poor teenage girl living in a village. I had a couple of nice parents and I would always wake up and watch our horses gallop through our farm. Until those bastards show up. A couple of Temzan villagers wanted refuge in our house from the invading Alahornian soldiers. We offered them shelter. But when the Alahornian soldiers did came to our houses, my life changed completely. Their officer was having a small casual conversation with my parents while I hide at the stairs and watched. Then, the officer felt movement coming below our dining table. The officer soon found the refugees and immediately, the villagers fire their weapons at them. They killed the officer, his soldiers and also…my parents." CC's eyes grew cold. "The villagers didn't want any witnesses who saw what they did to live. Soon they found me and shot me. But after the two left my house and I was left to die, she came."

_"The Crimson Duchess."_ Darren said.

CC nodded. "She offered me a second chance to live. Because I was such a coward who fears death, I quickly accepted her offer and she turns me into a pool of blood and puts me in a container. But little did I know, she added dark magic into my DNA in the process."

"So she used you as a tool as well." Darren folded his arms.

"She said to me that until she can find an appropriate body for me, I will be able to roam the living world for a second time and continue my life as a human." CC finished.

"And that's when she brought you to me." Darren said, turning his head away.

"I'm so sorry Darren." CC said and surprisingly, her eyes are now filling up with tears. But not watery tears. Tears of blood. "I…I really didn't mean for this to happen. I just wanted another life." She fell to her knees and wailed unhappily.

"I was the one who caused this destruction and yet you took the blame. I am so cruel!" CC continue sobbing and huge rivers of tears continue streaming down her cheeks. She lets out all her guilt, sorrow and regret through her tears.

Then, Darren kneels down to her and lifts up her chin. CC gasped as Darren turns her head to him and wipes off her tears of blood.

"W-w-why?" She choked.

"I still hate you for what you did to me, but my heart isn't made of stone." Darren said to her emotionlessly.

CC stares at Darren with dull and tearstained eyes. Darren wraps his arm around her back and slowly helps her up from the ground.

"Now then, I wish to go somewhere else." He said to her.

"Where to?" CC asked.

Darren's eyes softened. "The place where I buried her."

* * *

><p>Upon leaving the capital, both Darren and CC walk through a grassy field. They both walk over to a small tree with a gray stone planted below it. Beautiful flowers and roses were grown next to it. When the two got closer to the stone, Darren kneels down to it and sees a golden ring, a blue beret, a pair of large white revolvers and a portait of a smiling blonde-haired girl with green eyes and wearing her blue beret, still being placed over the grave after all these years. He now looks up at the stone. On it carved the name…<p>

_Noel Vermillion_

"Darren…" CC uttered.

Darren's eyes were lifelessly dull. "I have returned, my love." He said. He closes his eyes and fresh tears are formed.

"I'm so sorry, Noel. You are such a kind and caring woman. You don't deserve a tragic death at all." He uttered.

CC backs away as Darren lifts his head up. His eyes are drowned with tears and he starts wailing in despair. "Oh Noel! How could I have broken our trust?! Why does it have to be like this?! Why?!"

"Darren…" CC said again in sorrow.

"And even after I was resurrected, I've broken a promise again for the second time! Why do I always keep messing up?! What the hell is wrong with me?!"

Darren continued wailing while CC could only stand behind and watch in pity, guilt and sadness. She knows that if it wasn't for her interference, Temza would have won the war and both Darren and Noel could have retired and went on to have a normal life together. She has not only destroyed Darren's home, but also his happiness and future. She hangs her head in shame as she also feels the pain Darren is having in her heart.

After a few minutes, Darren finally calms down and wipes off his tears. He placed a hand on the stone. "Noel…life really isn't the same without you." He uttered.

"Darren…" CC spoke up. Darren turns to her. "Don't blame yourself. I was the jinx that caused all of this. Her death is my responsibility, not yours."

Darren only sighed and turns away from her.

"Who's there?"

"Huh?" Both Darren and CC said as they turn their heads to the direction of the voice. Darren stood up and sees the voice came from a man who is standing at a distance. The man was holding a wooden staff and dressed in gray robes and his eyes were golden. His hair was long and black and several strands are dangling around the middle of his face.

The man let out a gasp and his eyes widen in surprise upon seeing Darren. "Is…that you, Darren?" He asked.

Darren nodded solemnly. "Yes Allelujah, my old friend. It's me."

The man, now known as Allelujah Haptism, gave a small smile to Darren.

"So the rumors are true…you have reawakened…"

* * *

><p>Yuri groaned as he groggily woke up. When he regained his sight, he looks around and sees nothing but darkness. He soon realized that his mouth was gagged with a white cloth, his hands are tied behind him with ropes and so does his legs. Then he remembered what happened before. He discovered a bunch of corpses in the castle's warehouse and suddenly, he was knocked out by a guard.<p>

Then, he heard a door opening from outside.

"He's in that crate, sir." Yuri heard someone saying. Suddenly, the crate opens up and Yuri squints his eyes as the light got into his vision. He looks up and sees a man towering over him with an evil smirk on his face.

Yuri narrows his eyes, knowing who it is. The man removes the gag around his mouth and Yuri took a deep breath before saying, "Captain Guradana!"

"Hello Prince Yuri." Guradana said smirking. His hair was short and yellow and has huge buck teeth. He's dressed in a brown uniform and a black cape. "So kid, who's the one kneeling now, huh? In the past, you are always the one bullying me around. Teasing me every time I'm addressing to the recruits and embarrass me in front of the whole kingdom after that fight we had in the arena! But not anymore. For this time, I'm the one who is putting you in a tight situation." He cackled evilly in satisfaction.

"Release me Guradana or my father will have your head!" Yuri shouted angrily.

"I'm afraid that's never going to happen, kid. By tonight, you will die and I will definitely be satisfied by your demise." Guradana said, smirking while showing his buck teeth.

"That's enough Guradana." Another voice said. Guradana turns around and sees the man coming into the room. "Leave while I have a talk with the prince."

"Yes sir." Guradana bowed to the man before leaving. The man walks over to Yuri, who was surprised to see who it was.

"Hello Prince Yuri Lowell." The man said to him.

Yuri narrows his eyes. "Relius…"

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: And that's the end of the chapter. Let's recap, shall we? Estelle has gone insane, trying to get revenge on the Demon Prince. What will happen when she meets him again? The identity of the blonde-haired girl has been revealed and it's Noel Vermillion from BlazBlue. And who is this Allelujah Haptism (From Gundam 00) and how is he related to Darren? And what is Relius planning to do? Stay tune and read and review guys!**

**EDIT: Guys, I would like to point out that Noel Vermillion ISN'T related to Mavis Vermillion. It just so happen that the two of them share the same surname. But they are not related because Noel is from a different franchise. Special thanks to NicoDeathAngel for reminding me.**


	20. Making up for Past Sins

**Sovereign: I don't wish to keep my readers waiting so...here it is! Another chapter! I would like to thank NicoDeathAngel, GoldenRoseTanya, Assault Godzilla, zeprincelini, Lightmoon54, splitheart1120 and sNoWaNgL for reviewing! Thanks guys!**

_**Chapter 19: Making up for Past Sins**_

"Hello Prince Yuri." Relius smirked at him as he adjusts his mask. "How nice of you to join us."

"Relius, if my parents find out about this, they will have your head!" Yuri yelled angrily at him.

"When they find out I captured you?" Relius let out a laugh. "Fool, your father _ordered me to_."

Immediately, Yuri's jaw plummeted and his eyes became as wide as saucers. He couldn't believe what he said.

"No…..it can't be!" Yuri cried in horror.

"I'm afraid it's true, your Highness." Relius said. "You see, all his life, your father wanted immortality. He always cared more about his conquest in taking over all of Earthland. But conquering an entire world would take more than a lifetime. So his other dream is to become an immortal. Ten years ago, he made a deal with me and Cornelia and agreed to sacrifice his own people to help him live longer."

"I see…those corpses…you and Cornelia drain their lives away and gave it to my father!" Yuri yelled, feeling both angry and disgusted right now.

"Ah, you learn fast, prince. And soon, you and your mother shall join them too." Relius said, giving an evil smirk.

"You bastards better not lay a finger on my mother!" Yuri shouted. "I will get you for this if you hurt her!"

"Fortunately, your mother escaped the palace before your men can capture her." Relius turns his head away and grits his teeth. "That bastard Flynn Scifo ran off with her."

Yuri gave a small smirk upon hearing this. "That's my Flynn. Always doing his job."

"Still, eventually, we will capture the both of them." Relius adjusts his collar as he said.

"Go ahead Relius. You want my life? Take it. But don't take my mother." Yuri said to him fearlessly. Relius turns back to Yuri and smirked.

"Oh don't worry. I won't drain your life yet. I have _special arrangements_ with you." Relius said to him. "Now then, I'm done wasting my time with you. I have to go now and attend an assignment." With that, he turns around and walks away. He passes by a guard, the same fat and muscular guard who knocked Yuri out back at the castle, and said to him, "Captain Maruru, make sure he stays in there at all times." Maruru salutes as Relius leaves the room.

"Just you wait Relius. I will get you for this…" Yuri narrows his eyes. "And you too, father."

"Quiet!" Maruru yelled at him before placing the lid back onto the crate.

* * *

><p>Darren and CC watched as Allelujah walks his way towards them. As he walks, his left leg was staggering and wobbling unnaturally.<p>

"How's your right leg going, Allelujah?" Darren asked. "Still hurts?"

"Ah, it's okay. The pain left long ago." Allelujah chuckled. Once he comes face-to-face with Darren, he laughed merrily and gave him a hug.

"Good to see you again, Darren." He said to him. Darren, despite feeling uncomfortable, hugged his friend back.

"Yeah, good to see you again too." Darren whispered to him.

Allelujah pulls away from the hug and turns to CC. "Who's the woman? Is she…" He leans his head towards Darren's ear. "Your new girlfriend?"

"WHAT?!" Darren and CC both shout in unison.

"No! She's just a companion!" Darren said blushing.

"Yeah! What he said!" CC said.

Alllelujah laughed and scratches the back of his head. "Hey, I was just pulling your leg, Darren. Don't take it seriously." He said.

Darren let out a sigh. "Still the same old person." He said as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Thanks." Alleluljah smiled before turning to Noel's grave. "Hello Noel. How are you today?"

"What are you doing here anyway, Allelujah?" Darren asked.

"Just came to see Noel too. That's my daily afternoon routine." Allelujah said.

"Daily routine?" CC asked as she walks over to the two men.

"Yeah. In fact, I just live nearby." He said as he walks over to the grave and kneeled down on both knees. He took out a handkerchief and cleans the portrait of Noel. "Here you go, Miss Vermillion."

"Thanks for taking care of her, Allelujah." Darren said, nodding his head.

"You're welcome." Allelujah replied as he placed the portrait back down before grabbing his staff tightly as he gets back up again.

Then, Darren's stomach started growling. "Hungry?" He laughed as he turns to his friend.

"Sort of. I've forgotten that I hadn't eaten lunch." Darren said, blushing in embarrassment.

Allelujah smiled and gestures them to follow him. "Come, I'll take you to my village."

* * *

><p>Darren and CC followed Allelujah through the forest. "How far away is your village, Allelujah?" CC asked.<p>

"Not far now." Allelujah answered.

"Allelujah?" Darren asked. He turns his head to him. "Why are you so happy?"

"Why shouldn't I?" He smiled at him.

"No. Allelujah." Darren frowned at him. "I caused you, Noel and the others so much pain ten years ago. Why are you still happy to see me again?"

"And become depressed all over again? Why would I do that?"

"Are you giving me sympathy Allelujah? Because you know I don't deserved that after what I've done."

The three stopped for a moment and Allelujah let out a sigh. "Darren, you're my friend. What happened ten years ago is the past now. After the incident, I've moved on. I left my depression behind and start a new life. And because we are still friends, I don't want to treat you differently or constantly remind you of what happened. No matter what, we always have to move on."

Darren's mouth was agape after hearing what he said. He then closes his mouth and places his hands into his pockets. "Thank you…for still caring about me."

"You're welcome. Now let's go." Allelujah smiled as he continues walking his way through the forest again.

"Feel better?" CC smirked as she turns her head to him.

Darren turns to her and shrugged, "Sort of." The two continued following him.

Soon, they all arrived at a small village. Darren widens his eyes. This village is similar to Brades, except the houses were made of scrap metal. Women are sitting in the small houses doing their daily routines, children are happily playing around the village and the men are working at a nearby crop field. Also, most of the males in the village were…

"Male Krityans." He said as he watched the male Krityans helping the villagers. Some were helping the women hang the laundry while others are working at the crop field.

"That's right." Allelujah said.

"Allelujah! You're back!" A male Krityan said as he approached the three.

"Yes I am, Daniel." He said to him. Allelujah then gestures him to Darren and CC. "Daniel, I would like you to meet my old friend Darren! And his companion umm…"

"Oh right, I hadn't say my name yet." CC said. "It's…C2."

"Quite a strange name." Allelujah pointed out.

"Yeah well, it's my preferred nickname." CC chuckled.

"Sounds good enough." He said before turning back to Daniel. "Darren and C2."

"Nice to meet you." Daniel said as he extends a hand. Darren shakes his hand and examines the male Krityan. He has long dark blue hair tied to a long ponytail and also has long light blue headtails just like Judith. He is dressed in light green robes, grey pants and brown boots.

"Nice to meet you too Daniel." Darren said. While shaking hands with him, he sees a white-haired girl standing behind Daniel. She has long white hair, tied to four ponytails and dressed in sand green and dark blue robes and a purple dress. Her head is lowered and has a frown on her face.

"Who's that?" Darren asked.

Allelujah and Daniel turn to the girl. "Oh, that's Jiang Lihua." Daniel said. "She like sto wander around the village."

CC kneels down to her level and asked, "Hi there, do you have a family?" Lihua remained silent and shook her head.

"Lihua is an orphan. She has no family or guardian." Allelujah said to the two.

"Oh…" CC muttered and frowned. _'She's just like me…'_

"Please go somewhere else alright?" Daniel kindly asked the girl. Lihua nods silently and walks away.

After a few seonds of silence between the four, Allelujah turns his head to Darren and CC and smiled, "Come on into the village. I want you to meet my wife and children. Don't be shy."

* * *

><p>In a small house, a white-haired woman dressed in a yellow turtleneck sweater, gray pants and black boots was kneeling down, preparing lunch while cooking with a metal pot on a portable stove. At the other side of the house were two boys and one girl. The two little boys were fighting over a toy train while the girl is pasting her drawing on the wall.<p>

"Rasyid, Hussein, no fighting please." The woman said to the boys.

"Marie! I'm back!" Allellujah called as he, Darren and CC entered the house.

"Welcome back, my love." The woman, now known as Marie, smiled and bowed her head.

"Daddy!" The boys said as they put the train away and run over to their father.

"Daddy!" The girl cried as well as she runs over to Allelujah and all three embrace him.

"Hello Rasyid, Hussein and Anita." Allelujah smiled warmly as he hugs his children.

"Such cute children." CC smiled at the sight of this.

Allelujah pulls away from the hug and turns to Darren and CC. "Guys, these are my children, Rasyid, Hussein and Anita." He turns to his children. "Kids, say hello to Darren and CC."

"Hello!" The three said in unison as they wave their hands at them. Darren and CC waved back at them.

"And of course, let's not forget my beautiful wife." Allelujah said as he goes over to Marie.

"Oh Allelujah." Marie chuckled as her husband wraps his arm around her. Allelujah plants a kiss on her forehead and turns back to Darren and CC.

"This is Marie Parfacy." Allelujah said to them, introducing her.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Darren smiled at Marie and waves his hand at her.

"Darren? You mean your friend Darren Leong you told us about?" Marie asked Allelujah.

"Yes." Allelujah nods his head. "He fought alongside me at the Battle between Temza and Alahorn."

"Whoa!" The three children yelled in unison before running over to Darren and gathered around him.

"Darren? Is it true to save daddy's life?" Rasyid, a boy with short red hair, asked.

"How many baddies did you fight?" Anita, a girl with long white hair like her mother, asked.

"Your glasses are shiny." Hussein, a boy with short black hair, said.

Darren chuckled and pat Rasyid and Anita's heads. "Questions later. Can we have some lunch first?"

"Of course!" Marie smiled. "I'm preparing spinach and carrot soup."

"Vegetables? Do you cook meat?" CC asked.

"Sorry, no meat today." Marie said sheepishly. CC groaned and strokes her hair while Allelujah and Marie both laughed.

'_I hate veggies.'_

* * *

><p>After having their lunch, CC played pat-a-cake with Anita while Darren, Alellujah, Marie, Rasyid and Hussein sat together and tell the two boys their stories that happen during their days in the battle between Temza and Alahorn.<p>

"Before Darren here became a professional, he was quite a klutz. He would always trip over his own laces during training." Allelujah said, causing his sons to laugh.

"Oh yeah." Darren said in slight annoyance as he adjusts his glasses. "While you on the other hand is such a neat freak knight." He said to Hussein and Rasyid. "Do you know your daddy not only fold his clothes but his socks as well?" This causes Allelujah's sons and Marie to laugh as well.

"Really dear? You fold your own socks?" Marie laughed.

"At least it shows I'm quite a gentleman, right?" Allelujah smirked.

"Allelujah?"

Everyone present in the house, including CC and Anita, turn to the entrance and see Daniel.

"Daniel, what is it?" Allelujah asked.

"Nothing. Just want to remind you that if you need anything, I'll be at the crop field."

"Alright."

"Yeah, mind if I join you, Daniel?" Darren asked.

"Sure." Daniel smiled. "Outside help is always appreciated."

Darren nods his head and gets up. "Sorry Allelujah but would it be okay if I join Daniel for a while?"

"Sure." Allelujah smiled.

"C2, you stay here." Darren said to the lime green-haired woman who is now building a jigsaw puzzle with Anita.

"Sure." C2 smiled warmly. "After all…" She turns back to Anita and helps her fix the puzzle. "I would like to spend some time feeling how it's like being with a family again."

Darren smiled back before going outside to follow Daniel.

* * *

><p>As Darren follows Daniel through the village, he sees the other male Krityans sitting around with the humans eating food together and chatting with each other.<p>

"Daniel, you Krityans sure get along well with the humans in this village." Darren said.

"Yes. That's because these humans were Temzan refugees. They survived the war and are left homeless." Daniel said.

Darren turns to Daniel and asked, "Daniel, I know you Krityans are originally from Brades in Myorzo Island."

The two stopped for a moment and Daniel turns to him. "How do you know that?"

"Because I have met your leader, Judith." Darren said. Daniel widens his eyes.

"Judith? Is she-"

"Safe. Yes." Darren nods his head. "She had said to me that you male Krityans left the island a year ago, aiding the humans."

"Yes." Daniel lowers his head. "We've tried that. We have gone to main human cities all across Earthland, trying to help them out. But they all rejected us. They refuse to let us help them. They think we are…abominations."

"No." Darren clenches his fist. "That is not true. I have spent time with Judith. You Krityans are equally the same as us humans. Your race deserves to live along humanity."

"Thank you for your grateful words." Daniel said. "But no matter where we go, the humans only reject us because we are different. So we all decide to go back here to Temza and eventually we came across this village, full of Temza refugees. Because we were once Temzans too, they allow us to live with us and since then, we help these humans out. But still, we still lose some dignity in us, feeling sad that only Temza would accept us while the rest of Earthland look down on us."

"Daniel, please don't give up." Darren said to him. "During my journey, I have made a certain friend who is fascinated by the Krityan race and culture."

"Really?"

"Yes. Her name is Estelle. She loves learning about the Krityans and wishes to know more about them. Not all humans reject you. Not out of them are bad. Including me. I've enjoyed living with the Krityans too when I was in Brades." Darren smiled.

"How did you find Brades anyway?" Daniel asked.

Darren tries not to tell him that he is the Demon Prince and that he is resurrected there, so he thought of an alternative answer.

"I'm an explorer, you see. I love travelling around the world." Darren answered.

"Ah, interesting." Daniel chuckled.

"Daniel!" A female human villager screamed as she enters the village and runs over to him and Darren. All the other Krityans and villagers look puzzled.

"What is it, Julia?" Daniel asked.

"Alahornians! We have been found!" This causes several gasps of horror among the villagers.

"No..." Darren uttered.

* * *

><p>In the middle of the forest, several trees collapses as a huge metal Alahornian tanks with a huge long cannon and several turrets roll through the forest.<p>

Inside the tank, one soldier was using a telescope and sees the village where the Temzan refugees are ahead. The soldier moves away from the telescope and said to the officer who is sitting above him.

"Sir, the village which our scouts have found is just right ahead." The soldier said.

"Good." The officer smiled evilly. "We shall destroy it. No Temzan deserves to live."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back at the village, the Krityans and human villagers gathered around Allelujah and his family.<p>

"Allelujah, what should we do? Our spears are definitely now march for their tank!" Daniel said. The other villagers and Kirtyans also burst out their concerns.

"Don't panic!" Allelujah yelled to everybody. He turns to Marie. "Marie, get the children into the house." Marie nods her head and gently escorts Rasyid, Hussein and Anita into the house.

"Mommy, where did C2 go?" Anita asked Marie.

"What?" Marie widens her eyes. "She isn't in the house?"

"Allelujah, face it! We can going to die for sure!" A male villager yelled. This causes several villagers to wail in despair.

"Is this really the fate of us Temzans? Dying in misery til the end?" One female villager cried as she fell to her knees.

Allelujah look at all of them in despair. Inside him, he knew it's hopeless. They are all definitely going to die. He hung his head down in defeat.

But suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turns his head and sees Darren, who is frowning deeply.

"Darren?" Allelujah asked.

Darren turns to his friend and said, "Allelujah, you said to me I have to move on. But I can't. I've caused too much pain. I was the one who made all these villagers and Krityans homeless. I cannot rest until I correct my mistakes. It's time for me to make up for my sins."

"What?" He widens his eyes.

Darren turns his head away and removes the bandages around his right arm. "Let's go, C2."

C2 walks over to Darren and places her hand on the wound. "Right." She said flatly. Everybody, including Allelujah and his family, watched in awe as C2 goes back into her blood form and goes inside Darren's wound. His wound then heals instantly.

Darren's eyes then turn gold and the villagers and Krityans back away from him.

"Are you…" Daniel is about to ask.

"**Yes."** Darren nods his head. **"I am…the Demon Prince. And I'm going to help you all."**

The villagers and Krityans move away as Darren walks his way towards the entrance and heads his way towards the incoming tank.

Suddenly, everybody noticed a huge cannonball heading towards their village. Everybody screamed in horror.

Darren quickly looks up and activates his wings. He flies up and slashes the cannonball, causing it to explode in midair.

The villagers and Krityans watched in awe as Darren lands back down on the ground. When he gets up, he continues walking towards the tank.

"Allelujah, do you know about this?" Marie asked her husband.

Allelujah closes his eyes and bowed his head. He uttered softly.

"Good luck…my friend."

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: And I shall end the chapter here. I was originally going to stop this chapter after Darren fights the tank but I felt it's getting too long. Heh. So in the next chapter, Darren battles with the Alahornians! WHat will happen next? Stay tune and read and review!**


	21. Darren VS Maruru

_****_**Sovereign: The next chapter of the Demon Prince is up! Am I being productive lately? XD I would like to thank GoldenRoseTanya, splitheart1120, sNoWaNgL, Lightmoon54, NicoDeathAngel, zperincelini and Assault Godzilla for reviewing!**

_**Chapter 20: Darren VS Maruru**_

The soldier looks through the telescope and sees that the cannonball they shot earlier exploded in the sky. He backs away from the telescope and turns to the officer.

"Sir, we didn't hit the village. Our shot exploded in mid-air." The soldier said to him.

"Impossible! Try firing another shot!" The officer yelled.

"Yes sir!"

"Sir!" One of the tank's drivers yelled.

"What is it now?" The officer asked in annoyance.

"There's someone approaching!"

The soldier looks through the telescope again and clearly sees Darren, in his demonic form, walking towards the tank.

"He's right. There's a man walking towards our location." The soldier said before backing away from the telescope. He turns to the officer. "What should we do?"

The officer takes out his radio and yelled to Darren, "You there!"

* * *

><p>"Move away in two seconds or we will fire you!" The officer's voice yelled and rang throughout the forest.<p>

Darren however remained silent and continues walking towards the tank.

* * *

><p>"He's not stopping." One of the tank's drivers said.<p>

The officer narrows his eyes and grits his teeth. "Fine." He puts away his radio. "Let him have it."

* * *

><p>The tank fires a cannonball at Darren and the Demon Prince was caught in the explosion.<p>

* * *

><p>"There's no way he could have survived that blast." The soldier said, looking through his telescope again.<p>

"Ha, he deserved it anyway." The officer said, smiling in satisfaction.

"SIR!" One of the tank's drivers yelled again.

"What is it?!" The officer shouted annoyed.

"He's still alive!"

"WHAT?" Both the officer and soldier said in unison. The soldier looks through the telescope and widens his eyes in surprise. When the smoke is cleared, Darren continues walking towards the tank with his body completely unharmed and his right arm now in demonic form.

"Could that be…" the soldier gasped.

"The Demon Prince!" One of the tank's drivers yelled.

"The King warned us about him!" The other driver added.

The officer's eyes are now as wide as dinner plates and his jaw dropped. "Demon…Prince?" He uttered.

* * *

><p>"<strong>Let's not waste anymore time."<strong> Darren said, his eyes narrowed.

"_You got that right." CC said._

Darren then lifts up his arm and aims his palm at the tank. He starts creating a huge sphere of dark red magic.

* * *

><p>"Sir, what should we do?!" The soldier yelled, turning to the officer. However, the officer was too shocked to say anything at this point.<p>

"He's going to shoot us any moment!" one of the drivers yelled. After a few seconds, the officer still didn't say anything.

The soldier decides not to wait any longer for his officer's command and shouted as he stands up from his seat. "ABANDON TANK!"

The two drivers and the soldier panicked as they run over to the back of the tank while the officer just sits where he is.

* * *

><p>"<strong>DEMONIC BLAST!"<strong> He shot a huge beam of dark red magic and heads towards the tank.

* * *

><p>The officer closes his eyes and hangs his head in defeat as the tank gets caught in the blast. The officer's body was then covered in glowing dark red light and with a flash, his body bursts into dust.<p>

* * *

><p>Darren watched as the tank exploded into pieces. He lets down his demonic arm and watches huge clouds of black smoke fuming into the air and the now destroyed tank is engulfed in flames.<p>

_'I sensed somebody.' CC said to him._

"**Right."** Darren said before walking towards the damaged tank.

Meanwhile, the back door of the tank opens up and falls to the ground. The soldier coughed heavily as he staggers his way out of the tank. Somehow, he managed to survive the explosion. After a while, he fell to his knees and his body slumps to the ground.

As the soldiers continue to cough heavily, Darren walks over to the survivor and stands in front of him. The soldier looks up and gasps in horror at the sight of the Demon Prince. "Oh no…"

The soldier yelped as Darren grabs him by the neck and lifts him up into the air.

"**Where are you Alahornian soldiers coming from?! Tell me!"** Darren demanded.

"I will…never-ACK!" The soldier gasped in pain as Darren tightens his grip around his neck. "OKAY! I'LL TELL YOU!"

Darren then loosens his grip. **"Say it."**

"Our regiment's camp is located approximately 5 miles south at your current location." The soldier said.

"_Shall we kill you now that we have gotten our info?" CC asked._

"Please, don't kill me. I have a wife and a child!" The soldier begged to Darren for his life.

Darren narrows his eyes and drops the soldier. The soldier lands on his feet and widens his eyes, shocked to see that the Demon Prince has spared his life.

"**Get out of my sight or I'll kill you."** Darren growled. The soldier quickly nods his head and ran off into the forest.

"_Heh. I knew you would do that." CC said._

"Come CC, let's go to their camp and stop them." Darren said as he turns around and walks his way to the camp.

"**Got it."**

"Oof!"

Darren turns around and quickly aims his demonic hand at the direction of the voice.

"**Who is that?"** Darren yelled.

"Don't hurt me!"

Darren widens his eyes and lowers his arm. The voice came from the same girl he and CC met at the village. Apparently, the girl tripped over a rock and falls to the ground while following him and she is now trying to get up.

"Jiang Lihua?" Darren said as he quickly deactivates his demonic form and his arm turns back to normal.

"Wait for me…" Lihua groaned as she staggers up to her feet.

'_Huh, so she does speak.' CC said. _Darren walks over to Lihua and kneels down to her.

"Lihua, what are you doing here? It's too dangerous!" Darren said to the girl.

"I just want to follow you, that's all." Lihua replied to him.

"Lihua, it's too dangerous to be following me. You will get hurt. Let me take you back to the village."

"NO!" Lihua shouted. "If I go back to the village, I will have no one to live with!" Darren widens his eyes and his mouth agape. Lihua frowned deeply. "I was an orphan all my life. I don't know who my parents are and I had no home. I don't have anybody taking care of me and I had no one to turn to. Please let me follow you. I don't want to be alone!"

Darren noticed that tears are forming in Lihua's eyes. He sighed in pity and places his hand on her head. "Fine. You can follow me then. But don't get in my way of fighting."

* * *

><p>Maruru growled in annoyance as he continues to guard the room. He is very annoyed right now as Yuri continues to be talkative while he is still inside the crate.<p>

"You know, I'm feeling very warm in here right now and I can't remember when was the last time I shower. So could you open up this crate for me?" Yuri said to Maruru from inside the crate.

"SHUT UP!" Maruru yelled at the crate. "OR I WILL RIP YOUR MOUTH OUT!"

"Sorry but you can't do that because Relius said I have to be alive, right?" Yuri smirked.

Maururu growled angrily and walks over to the crate and opens the lid up.

"See, that was so hard, was it?" Yuri smiled as he tilts his head to the side. However, the smile quickly disappears as Maruru grabs Yuri by the collar and lift him up. He places his giant axe next to his neck, causing Yuri to widens his eyes.

"I won't repeat myself. Shut up or I will disobey Relius's orders and behead you!" Maruru said.

Yuri however, smirks again as he shifts his eyes to Maruru. "You don't scare me…_fatso_."

"WHAT DID YOU-"

"Captain!" An Alahornian soldier yelled as he enters the room.

"WHAT?! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M BUSY!" Maruru shouted at the soldier.

"Captain! You won't believe this! The Demon Prince is here!" The soldier yelled.

"WHAT?" Maruru yelled, his eyes almost popping out from his sockets.

Yuri narrows his eyes. "Demon Prince, huh?"

A smirk soon appears on Maruru's face. "Good. Let him come. I've always wanted to test my strength against the Demon Prince."

"What?" the soldier gasped.

"YOU HEARD ME! LET HIM COME HERE!" Maruru shouted.

"Right!" The soldier salutes before running off.

Maruru turns to Yuri and smirked. "You will have the pleasure to watch me do what you, commandant and Relius couldn't do. Killing the Demon Prince with my own hands."

Yuri glares at Maruru fearlessly. "You really think you can kill him?"

"Just watch."

* * *

><p>Darren and Lihua watched as the doors to the Alahornian soldiers' campsite slowly open in front of them.<p>

'_Something's not right. They are casually letting us in.' CC warned Darren._

"I know that." Darren whispered.

"Darren? What's going on?" Lihua asked.

Darren turns to Lihua and smiled at her. "Lihua, I want you to go find a place to hide until I'm done."

Lihua nods her head obediently. Darren releases her hand. "Please don't die, Demon Prince." Lihua said before turning around and ran off.

"I won't Lihua. I promise." He said. He turns to the campsite and walks inside with caution. The campsite is filled with tents and storage rooms. It seems nobody is around and the place is very quiet. Too quiet…

Darren shifts his eyes around as he cautiously walks through the campsite.

'_Nobody's home.' CC said._

"Something is definitely wrong then." Darren said to her.

"DEMON PRINCE!" Maruru's voice yelled.

Darren shifts his eyes to the front and quickly activates his demonic form, turning both of his arms into demonic hands.

Maruru chuckled evilly as he walks outside one of the storage rooms with two soldiers carrying the crate where Yuri is inside.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Maruru greeted as he bowed before Darren while the two soldiers drop the crate to the ground. Yuri groans as he lands in a rough thud.

"Ow!" Yuri said. "Easy on me!"

"Silence!" One of the soldiers yelled as he removes the lid of the crate.

"I am Captain Maruru. The man in charge of this camp and regiment." Maruru introduced himself.

"**You don't seem to fear me."** Darren pointed out.

Maruru smirks as he looks up at Darren. "Why would I? I shouldn't have any fear at all if I were to challenge the Demon Prince." Yuri pops his head out of the crate and sees Darren for the first time.

"So that's the Demon Prince?" Yuri said to himself softly, arching an eyebrow. "He's just a young adult."

"**So, you're going to fight me one-on-one?"** Darren asked.

"I didn't say I would fight you fairly." Maruru snaps his fingers and suddenly, about fifty soldiers appeared from their tents and draw out their swords. They all stand behind Darren and got into their fighting stances. The two soldiers who are standing behind Maruru and next to Yuri and the crate also draw out their swords.

"FINISH HIM!" Maruru shouted.

The soldiers let out their battle cries as they charge towards Darren. Immediately, Darren turns around and swings his demonic arms at the soldiers.

About twenty-four soldiers yell as Darren send all of them flying into the air with just one mighty swing.

Three soldiers jump in the air at the same time and try to stab their swords onto Darren with an overhead strike, but Darren swings his left demonic arm at them and sends all three crashing to a storage room. A few seconds later, the entire room collapsed.

The two soldiers who are originally with Maruru charge towards Darren from behind. Darren quickly turns around and grabs both of them by his demonic hands. He lifts them up, turns around and throws them at ten soldiers, knocking them all down.

One soldier runs over to Darren and tries to swing his sword horizontally at him but he let his guard down as Darren draws out his katana and swings it vertically at the soldier's stomach. The soldier moaned in pain as he falls to the ground.

Another soldier runs over to him with his sword but Darren goes over to him and stabs his katana through his chest. The soldier let out an agonizing yell as Darren removes his katana by slashing through his upper body.

He turns around and sees two soldiers running over to him while holding swords and shields. The two of them yell as they charge towards him but Darren kicks one soldier's shield and sends him sprawling through the ground. The other tries to swing his sword but Darren punches him across his cheek, causing him to drop his sword and shield. He goes over to him and stabs his katana onto his back.

Eight soldiers remained and they all gathered around Darren and get into their fighting stances. About twenty soldiers which Darren knocked down earlier and getting back up and rejoin the fight. Darren looks around as he removes his katana from the soldier's back.

"_Darren! We're surrounded! I suggest flight!" CC suggested._

"**Good idea."** Darren said.

All twenty-eight soldiers cried fearlessly as they all charge towards Darren. Darren quickly activates his wings and fly into the air. The surrounding soldiers back away for a moment and they all look up to see Darren hovering above them. Everybody widen their eyes and gasped as Darren aims his demonic hands at them.

"RUN!" One of the soldiers yelled before everybody scattered away.

"**DEMONIC BLAST!"** Darren shouted. He shot several dark red beams everywhere around the camp, destroying several tents and taking down many soldiers in the process. Several soldiers yelled in despair as they get caught in the blasts and their campsite is being destroyed.

After a while, Darren lands back on the ground and deactivate his wings. He looks around and sees the entire campsite burning in flames. Darren's mouth agape. The burning of the camp reminds him of the burning of Kalafina, which still haunts him til today.

"_Darren? You alright?" CC asked._

Darren closes his eyes. **"CC, I-"**

"_DARREN!"_

Darren snaps his eyes open and turns around, only to have a magic grenade land right in front of him and explode, sending him sprawling through the ground.

Darren lifts his head up as the smoke clears away. He sees Maruru in the distance, arming himself with a magic grenade launcher.

"Pick on somebody with the same level of power as you!" Maruru growled, smirking evilly.

Darren grits his teeth angrily. He grabs hold of his katana and gets back up. However, as soon as he gets back up, Maruru fires another grenade at him and it hits him in the gut. Darren cried in pain as the grenade explodes and sends him stumbling through the ground.

At this point, Darren's jacket and pants are now scorched and his body is covered in ashes and bruises. But, he still isn't out.

Darren let out a yell of anger as he arms himself with his katana and charges towards Maruru.

"You want more! Good!" Maruru yelled as he aims his grenade launcher at Darren again. But suddenly, someone kicked him from behind, sending Maruru falling to the ground face-first.

The Captain turns around and widens his eyes, seeing Yuri standing above him as he unties the ropes that originally binds his wrists. "For a captain, you really do suck at watching me." Yuri smirked.

Maurur growled angrily as he grabs his grenade launcher and shot a grenade at Yuri, who quickly dodges it by doing several back flips.

Maruru gets back up as Darren is now near him. He quickly turns around as Darren swings his katana diagonally at him. Maruru blocks the attack with his grenade launcher. The two stayed momentarily in a stalemate.

"Tonight, you will die Demon Prince!" Maruru shouted at him.

"**SHUT UP!"** Darren shouted angrily as he continues pushing his katana against the grenade launcher with all of his strength until eventually, he successfully sliced the launcher into half. Maruru backs away and laughs evilly as he now draws out his melee weapon: a giant battleaxe.

"Quit denying it! Accept your defeat!" Maruru shouted confidently before charging forward to Darren. He swings his axe vertically at Darren who backs away. But Maruru quickly takes this chance to take out a sonic grenade from his belt and tosses it at Darren. Darren, who is off guard, is caught in the explosion and is sent flying back and crashing into a burning tent.

"You like playing unfair, do you?" Yuri yelled from behind Maruru. Maruru turns around and Yuri yells as he is now armed with his trademarked sword which has a shiny white blade and a golden hilt. Yuri then let out a series of attacks which Maruru could barely block them with his battleaxe. Eventually, Yuri managed to make a cut on Maruru's right arm, causing him to groan in pain and fall on one knee.

Yuri then aims his bracelet at Maruru's face. "Is that…" Maruru said, examining the bracelet.

"Yes, a blastia bracelet, given to me by my father." Yuri said, narrowing his eyes. "Now surrender yourself!"

Maruru smirked. "AS IF!" He uses his unharmed left hand and grabs Yuri's wrist. Yuri yelled in pain as Maruru tightens his grip on his wrist. Yuri is now feeling intense pain as Maruru is trying to crash his wrist. The huge amount of pain causes Yuri to fall to his knees while Maruru now gets up on both feet.

"Tonight, I shall end the lives of both the former commandant and prince Yuri Lowell and the Demon Prince. How about that?!" Maruru said, smiling in glee.

Suddenly, he heard a yell. Maruru turns around and sees Darren running over to him with his katana still in his hand. Darren's head is now bleeding at the side and his hair is stained with blood. His clothes are now scorched, revealing his wounds.

Maruru smirked as he simply grabs his battleaxe and swings at Darren vertically as he turns around. The axe hits Darren at the right side of his abdomen.

"No…" Yuri muttered. He watched as Darren falls to the ground in defeat. Maruru smiles in satisfaction as Darren is now lying motionlessly with his eyes still open.

"HAHAHAHA! At last! The Demon Prince is DEAD!" Maruru laughed victoriously as he lifts his battleaxe in the air. Yuri gasps in horror as Maruru turns back to him.

"But don't worry prince. YOU ARE NEXT!" Maruru yelled. However, before he could bring down his battleaxe, someone spoke up.

"How dare you…"

"What?" Maruru yelped, widening his eyes.

He and Yuri turn back to Darren's lifeless body and both of them widen their eyes as blood pours out from his wounds. The blood transforms into a humanoid figure and CC reveals herself to them.

"A woman?" Yuri said in awe.

CC glares at Maruru furiously. _"How…How dare you…"_ She tightens her fists as her body is now fuming in anger. _**"HOW DARE YOU HURT MY MASTER!"**_

Maruru gasps as CC's eyes turn golden, the same golden eyes Darren had in his demonic form. CC then ran forward to Maruru in great speed that the Captain could not react. CC lands her right fist into Maruru's gut, causing him to cough saliva out from his mouth. CC then let loose a series of punches into Maruru's abdomen and eventually, ending it with an uppercut to Maruru's chin and lifts her left leg up and kicks him in the gut, sending him skidding across the ground.

Maruru tries to get up with his battleaxe in his hand but CC quickly goes over to him and brings down her right leg onto the top of his head, sending him back to the ground with a powerful blow.

Maruru roared angrily as CC does a back flip. The woman watched as Maruru quickly gets back up and arms himself with his battleaxe.

"I WILL TEACH YOU A LESSON!" Maruru roared. He then swings his battleaxe horizontally at CC, performing an overhead strike.

"LOOK OUT!" Yuri shouted at her.

"Goodbye!" Maruru said, smiling evilly. However, that smile quickly fade away when CC simply lifts her hand up and blocks the axe. She then grabs the blade of the axe and kept a cold glare at the Captain.

"Don't underestimate me, you swine." CC tightens her grip on the blade until eventually, the blade of Maruru's battleaxe starts cracking.

"Impossible!" Maruru yelled in disbelief. The battleaxe then shatter into pieces and CC ran up to the Captain again. CC punches Maruru across his right cheek, then punches him again across his left cheek, then performs an uppercut to his chin, then punches him in the abdomen, and finally, uses her right leg and kicks Maruru's face, breaking his nose in the process. Maruru falls to the ground, his face now bleeding.

Maruru tries to get up but CC stood over him and places his foot on his chest, causing him to gasp.

"So, how does it feel? Being the defeated?" CC asked icily. Maruru gasps in pain as CC rubs her high-heel boot on the same spot on his chest. The woman then kneels down to his face and places her hands on the sides of his head.

"No, please!" Maruru begged.

"I will give you…a slow painful death…" CC said in a monotone voice. Then, she starts titling Maruru's head, trying to break his neck.

"Aaaahhh! Aaaahh! AAAAHHHH!" Maruru yelled in pain as CC is trying to kill him. His eyes start rolling back.

"Don't resist." CC narrows her eyes. "Because the pain will eventually end."

"NO!"

CC snaps her eyes open when she heard the voice. She turns her head and sees Jiang Lihua, staring at her shocked.

"Lihua?" CC said in surprise.

"What are you doing?" Lihua asked, her eyes feeling watery. "Please! Don't kill him!"

"Lihua, but-"

"CC, please! This isn't like you back at the village!" Lihua pleaded. "I watched you and Darren live with Allelujah and his family. Watch you play with his daughter. Watch how happy, kind and cheerful you were back there! Please! Don't become a murderer! Don't kill him! Please!"

Lihua ends what she said with a loud hoarse whimper. CC simply stared at Lihua in awe. She was right. She had so much fun and happiness when she was playing with Anita. She almost felt like she is a human again. How can she throw that all away by becoming inhuman all over again. She turns back to Maruru and releases her grip around his neck.

CC narrows her eyes at him. "You're not even worth killing."

She then gets off of Maruru and walks over to Lihua, who is sobbing uncontrollably. She kneels down to her and embraces her. "Lihua…I'm sorry."

Lihua closes her eyes and hugs back. However, that moment of peace and silence end in just a second.

"LOOK OUT!" Yuri yelled. CC and Lihua both gasp and open their eyes. CC turns around and sees Maruru, now back up with an evil smirk on his face and preparing to swing his fist to CC.

"You shouldn't have let your guard down!" Maruru yelled.

"NOOOO!" CC screamed as she gave Lihua a protective hug. Lihua let out an ear-piercing scream as well.

Suddenly, a person ran over to Maruru from behind in great speed and stabs his katana through his back. The fat Captain gasped and coughs out blood as it happens.

CC and Lihua both look up and gasp, seeing the blade of Darren's katana sticking out from Maruru's abdomen with blood dripping to the grass.

"This…really…sucks…" Maruru rolls his eyes back and his head slumps to the side. Darren removes his katana and Maruru moaned as he falls to the grassy ground right in front of CC and Lihua.

"Darren…" CC said. Darren remained silent as he unsheathes his katana.

"Sorry I was late…" He uttered before closing his eyes and passed out.

"Darren!" CC shouted.

"Darren!" Lihua screamed. The two watched as Darren falls to the ground again motionlessly.

"Darren! Wake up!" CC said as she and Lihua goes over to him and nudges his body, trying to wake him up but to no avail.

"Darren! Please! Wake up! You promise you wouldn't die! DARREN!" Lihua sobbed uncontrollably as her tears splashed onto Darren's body.

"Stay away." Yuri said The two girls look up and see yuri walking over to him with his sword in his hand.

"Don't you hurt him!" CC growled as she stands up and spreads out her arms, preventing Yuri from coming near her master.

"Relax. I promise I won't hurt him. I wish to help him." Yuri said to her.

"What?" CC said, lowering her arms.

"You heard what I said."

CC moves away as Yuri kneels down to Darren.

"Will he be okay?" Lihua said, sobbing and sniffing. Yuri places his hand on his neck and sighed in relief.

"Don't worry. He'll be fine. I can still feel his pulse. But we have to get out of here now before this whole place burns to the ground." Yuri said.

"Let's go." CC said. Yuri puts away his sword and gently carries Darren's body with his arms. CC and Lihua follows Yuri from behind and they all leave the campsite, letting the entire place continue to burn.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: Done! *Moves away from the keyboard and collapses* *Gets back up a few minutes later.* I...wow. Never thought this chapter will be SUPER long. *Sigh* So yeah, hope you all enjoy the chapter and what's going to happen to Darren now? Stay tune and read and review!**


	22. Revelation

**Sovereign: I would like to thank Lightmoon54, Assault Godzilla, GoldenRoseTanya, splitheart1120, sNoWaNgL and zeprincelini for reviewing. Thanks guys!**

_**Chapter 21: Revelation**_

Darren snaps his eyes open. He turns his head around and sees that he is lying on a grassy field, all alone. He then looks skyward and sees the beautiful sky with clouds slowly passing by.

Darren then rose up from the ground and sees a blonde-haired girl kneeling nearby on a picnic mat, making sandwiches.

He widens his eyes at the girl. Could it be?

"Noel?" Darren spoke. The girl stops what she is doing and places her butter knife gently on the mat. She turns to Darren and smiled at him.

"Hello again, Darren." Noel said, smiling sweetly.

"Noel!" Darren cried as he quickly gets up and runs over to him and gave an embrace. "Noel! It's you! It's really you!"

Noel giggled and wraps her arms around Darren. "Of course it's me."

"Wait…" Darren widens his eyes in realization. "I though you're dead. But if you are dead than…"

Noel frowned and gently pulls herself away from Darren and remained silent. Darren's eyes softened. "I see…I'm dead too."

"Actually no." Noel spoke up. Darren looks up at her. "You're at the borderline between life and death. Your body back on Earthland just lost consciousness. But this place where you must decide whether you should go back to Earthland…or join me in death…"

Darren grabs Noel's hands and gently grasps them. "Noel…I would like to join you!"

"What?" Noel widens her eyes.

"Noel! I missed you so much! We are supposed to get married after the war, but my foolish actions caused your death. Since then, I live with grief over your death! I miss you Noel! I really do!" Darren cried.

"Darren…" Noel uttered.

But then, Darren turns his head away. "But…what is going to happen back at Earthland if I go with you?"

Noel softens her eyes. She gently removes her hands away from Darren's grip.

"What?" Darren turns back to her in surprise.

"I'm sorry Darren…but you can't join me in death yet." Noel said.

"Why is that?" Darren asked.

"Because Earthland needs you!" Noel said as she stares into Darren's eyes. "Your friends need you…"

"My friends?" Darren widens his eyes. "You know my friends?"

"Yes." Noel nods her head. "I've been watching over you Darren ever since I died. I watched you resurrect, met her…and made more friends along the way."

"Judith…" Darren uttered. "So you do know her."

"Darren…I want you to go back to Earthland and reunite with Judith." Noel said.

Darren closes his eyes. "No. She's probably still upset with me. You did saw me tried to kill those mages back at Alahorn, right? She hates me now and…she will probably find a better companion than me."

"DON'T SAY THAT!" Noel shouted angrily and slaps her hand across Darren's cheek. This shocks Darren. Never in his life has he seen Noel this angry since ten years ago.

Darren turns back to Noel ashamed. "Noel…" He uttered.

"Darren…I want you to go back to Earthland…and make Judith happy." Noel said.

"But Noel…I love you." Darren said, frowning.

"And you love Judith too." Noel said. She places her hand gently on Darren's cheek. "Darren, I already had a great time with you when I was alive. I could never make a better friend and soul mate than you. But now, it's time for you to start anew for I'm in a better place now, a place of happiness. And you must find your own happiness too. Go find and love someone else and begin a new life."

Darren didn't realize he was crying until he felt a tear splashed onto his knee. "Noel…" He said.

"Now go." Noel smiled. "Make her happy, for she is to be cherished."

Darren made a smile and closes his eyes. "Yes Noel…" He nods his head. "I will…thank you."

"Ganbaru!" Noel grinned at Darren one last time before everything turns white…

* * *

><p>Darren groggily opens his eyes up. When his vision is cleared, he realized he's back in Earthland.<p>

"Noel…" He whispered.

"Darren!"

Darrren turns his head to the side and sees CC and Lihua sitting next to his bedside. Both of them are looking surprised and delighted at the same time.

"Welcome back…master…" CC smiled, her eyes becoming watery…or bloody.

"You kept your promise." Lihua smiled at him as well.

Darren rose up from his bed and sees that both his jacket and shirt have been taken off and his chest and abdomen are bandaged up.

He places his hand on the side of his head and feels a bandage placed on where his wound is as well.

"CC, you did this?" Darren asked.

"No." CC shakes her head.

"It was me."

Darren turns to the doorway and sees Yuri leaning against the door. "I guess I haven't introduced myself to you. I'm Yuri Lowell, prince of Alahorn and heir to the throne."

"Prince?" Darren said.

"Probably." Yuri shrugged. "I don't know if I still hold the title because I was just a tool to my father, the king, all along."

"He says that his father is going to use him and his mother to make him immortal." CC explained to Darren.

"We have to stop my father." Yuri said. "With the help of two alchemists named Relius and Cornelia, he's going to use his own people's lives to make himself live longer."

"Relius…" Darren muttered.

"Cornelia…" CC narrows her eyes.

"Yeah." Yuri nods his head. "And don't worry; I'm not siding with my father so I won't hurt you and your allies Darren. I wish to stop him. My father is a villain and a disgrace to all of Alahorn."

Darren nods his head. "Where are we anyway?"

"We're back in Kalafina, Darren." CC said. Darren turns to the lime-green haired woman. "It's the nearest place we can go and find a good shelter for you and us to rest."

"I see." Darren said.

* * *

><p>Darren, Yuri, CC and Lihua walk over to the Royal Palace, formerly the home of the royal family of the Kingdom of Temza. The once proud and beautiful palace is now in ruins with its staircase leading to the palace doors covered in dust and ashes and vines growing over the castle walls.<p>

"So this is the royal palace of Temza." Yuri said, looking at the castle, as he places his hands on his hips.

"Yeah. This is where I used to live too." Darren said to Yuri.

"And where my father would report to the king everyday."

Darren, CC, Lihua and Yuri turn around and see _**everyone **_standing behind them, including Judith.

"Judith…" Darren said as he softens his eyes.

"It's time you give us an answer." Natsu said as he steps forward and stands next to Judith.

"Who are you?" Lucy asked, stepping forward as well. "Really?"

Darren looks at everyone…Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Jellal, Mirajane, Wendy, Juvia, Happy, Charle, Carl, Estelle, Takuto and of course, Judith.

Darren turns to Judith. "You gave me a command, right master?"

"Master?" Erza said, arching an eyebrow at Judith.

Judith nods her head. "Do it." She said.

Darren nods his head back and turns to everyone.

"Everybody…I am…the _Demon Prince_."

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: And that was the end of the chapter everyone. The next chapter will be an entire origin story of Darren and what happen during the battle of Temza ten years ago. And after that, we will go back to Fairy Tail and what's Estelle going to do now. How's that? C:**

**Stay tune and read and review!**


	23. The Calm Before the Storm

**Sovereign: I would like to thank Lightmoon54, GoldenRoseTanya, zeprincelini, splitheart1120, Assault Godzilla and sNoWaNgL for reviewing. Thanks guys! Here's a long chapter as your reward! XD**

_**Chapter 22: The Calm Before the Storm**_

_**Ten Years Ago…**_

**Frankston, Kingdom of Temza**

Outside the damaged town of Frankston, several villagers lined up in a horizontal row with their wrists tied in ropes as Alahornian soldiers stand before them. The Alahornian forces have invaded and captured this town and claiming it for their own.

A red-haired soldier with a red beard dismounts from his horse and walks over. A soldier salutes to him. "Lieutenant Calares, these are the surviving villagers. What should we do to them?"

Calares smirked as he glances at the captured villagers. "Kill them all. We must get rid of this pests away from our new territory."

"Why are you doing this?" A male villager yelled. "We have done nothing!"

"You're right." Calares smiled evilly. "You're just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kill them!"

The villagers gasp and widen their eyes in horror as the Alahornian soldiers now aim their crossbows at them.

"Mum…I'm scared!" A boy cried in horror.

"Just don't think about it." His mother, who is kneeling next to him, said as tears form in her eyes.

"Ready…" Calares said. "Aim…" The villagers close their eyes, knowing that this is their end. They all helplessly await for Calares' command to end their lives.

Then…nothing happened.

"SIR!" A soldier yelled in horror.

The villagers open their eyes and gasp.

"What is it?" Calares yelled in annoyance, turning to the soldier.

"Temzan templars!"

The villagers, soldiers and Calares all gasped as they turn their heads to the right and see four mounted horsemen lined up in a horizontal row. All four are each dressed in silver metal helms, silver metal gloves, metal dressing underneath their robes, brown belt and silver metal greaves. The only things that differentiate from one another are the color of their capes and clothing and the symbols on their robes. The first one was dressed in blue and has a white fleur-de-lis in the middle of her robe, the second was dressed in black and has a white cross in the middle of his robe, the third was dressed in red and has a white diamond in the middle of his robe and the fourth was dressed in white and has a black eagle symbol in the middle of his robe.

Calares glared at them. "So, you four are the Temzan templars."

"Release the villagers and we shall spare you!" The black templar yelled as he extends his katana.

Calares grits his teeth. "Not without a fight! Kill them!"

The solders aim their crossbows at them and prepare to fire. Suddenly, the blue templar quickly draws out both her revolvers and within a few seconds, shot down all the soldiers in incredible speed.

The villagers watched in awe while Calares gasped in shock.

"Whoa…incredible." The boy said in amazement.

"Final warning…" The black templar said.

Calares narrows his eyes and grits his teeth. "NEVER!" He quickly runs over to his horse and mounts up. Suddenly, twenty Alahornian soldiers appeared and rode their horses towards the templars.

"Soldiers! Kill them!" Calares screamed. "ALL HAIL ALAHORN!"

"Huh, he sure is persistent." The red templar said as he draws out crossbow.

"Shall we attack?" The white templar asked as he draws out his spear.

"Let's go everyone." The black templar said. He waved his katana. "Attack!"

The four templars charge towards Calares and his men. The blue templar aims her revolvers at the horsemen and fire several bullets at them, killing eight of them.

The white templar charges towards four Alahornian horsemen. He swings his spear and kills two of them. He sees the remaining two charging at him on both sides. The templar leans back and swings his spear around and kills both of them as the two Alahornians pass by him.

In incredible speed, the red templar drew out his arrows and shot down six horsemen in just three seconds.

Two horsemen charge towards the black templar. The black templar swings his katana at them and kills both of them. The black Templar turns to the front. He sees Calares screaming as he charges towards him while raising his sword.

"Die templar!" Calares yelled. However, as soon as Calares reaches him, the black templar swings his katana and injures Calares' horse. His horse fell to the ground and Calares roll over the ground in pain.

Calares groans as he tries to get up. He looks up and gasped as the four templars rode their horses over and surround him. The black templar dismounts from his horse and brings the blade of his katana right to the tip of Calares' nose.

"You threaten these innocent villagers' lives and damaged their homes, now I render justice upon you." The black Templar said coldly. "You are found guilty of your crimes against the innocent. Your punishment is…"

"Please! I'll give you anything you want! Money! Women! Men! Please let me go!" Calares begged.

"Death!" The black Templar swings his katana without hesitation and slicing open Calares' throat. The templars turn around as Calares fell to the ground with blood pooling around him. The templars then mount on their horses and ride over to the villagers.

"Is everybody okay?" The blue templar asked. The villagers nod their heads.

"Thank you so much for saving us." An old man villager said as he bows his head. "Our lives are in your debts."

"Who are you guys?" The boy asked. The templars remove their helms, revealing their faces.

"I'm Noel Vermillion." The blue templar, now known as Noel, a girl with long blonde hair and green eyes, smiled.

"I'm Allelujah Haptism." The red templar, now known as Allelujah, a man with long black hair and golden eyes, said.

"I'm Suzaku Kururugi." The white templar, now known as Suzaku, a man with messy short brown hair and dark green eyes, grinned.

"And I'm Darren Leong." The black templar, now known as Darren, a man with messy black hair and black eyes and wears glasses, smiled as he nods his head. "And we are a special commando unit known as the Temzan Templars."

* * *

><p>The four templars rode their way back to Kalafina. It's been two days since they liberated Frankston and a group of Temzan soldiers has been sent to the town to help the townspeople rebuild their home.<p>

"Finally, we're almost home. I could use a shower." Suzaku said smiling.

"Do you ever think of anything else besides keeping your appearance?" Noel asked with a smirk.

"What do you want to do when we reach home, Allelujah?" Darren asked.

Allelujah sighed, "I don't know. Probably go around looking for my future wife since I don't have a girlfriend yet."

"Don't worry." Darren smiled. "She will show up one day."

"Guys, I can see Kalafina in the distance!" Noel cried. Darren, Allelujah and Suzaku turn their heads to the front and see the massive capital in the distance.

* * *

><p>Kalafina is a huge massive city and the heart of the Kingdom of Temza. Only a few cities in Earthland can match its same level of greatness in size and architecture. It was a bustling city with citizens walking everywhere doing their daily routines and merchants selling their food, goods and stuff at the street sides. The city is also home of two races, the humans and the krityans. It is a home where the two races co-exist with each other in peace.<p>

"Everyone! The templars have returned!" A merchant yelled. The people at the street sides smile and bow their heads in respect as Darren, Noel, Allelujah and Suzaku rode their horses through the city. The four smile and wave their hands while holding their helms with their other arm.

"Hey, how are you all doing?" Suzaku asked smiling and turning his head around. "Did you guys miss us?" Several girls swoon and scream at the sight of him. Suzaku laughed as he strokes his hair.

"Sir! Have this!" The merchant smiled as he threw an apple at Darren. Darren catches the apple and takes a bit of it.

Darren turns to the merchant and smiled. "Thanks." He said.

"Anytime sir!" The merchant said as he waves his hand.

"How are you guys doing?" Noel said smiling at a group of men. The men sighed and smile in delight at the sight of her.

"Thank God for creating her." One of the men said.

"Yeah." Another man said as he places his hands on his chest. "If only she went to the same school as me."

"Guys, let's keep our heads straight now." Darren said to the other templars. The others nod their heads and kept straight faces as they continue riding.

Meanwhile, at an apartment, a 14-year old blue-haired girl opens the windows and look out of her house. She looks down and sees the four templars riding down the road.

"Wow." The girl widens her eyes and smile.

"Hey Juvia, you're awake." A blue-haired boy, who is three years older than Juvia, walks up to her.

"Nii-sama, look! It's the Temzan Templars!" Juvia said, turning to her brother. Her brother walks up to her and places his hand on her shoulder. The two look down at them.

"Yes they are, Juvia." Her brother smiled. "Next year, your brother going to become a Temzan soldier and be as strong as them."

Juvia turns to her brother and smiled, "Juvia thinks you can, Nii-sama!" Her brother laughed and pats her head.

Meanwhile, the four Temzan Templars continue riding their way towards the end of the city where the royal palace is located. The royal palace is the home of the Temzan royal family and rulers of the kingdom.

* * *

><p>Two royal guards open the palace doors, allowing the templars to enter. The royal guards salute as the templars pass by them.<p>

"Welcome back, Temzan Templars." One of the guards greeted.

"Thank you very much." Darren replied.

"SUZAKU!"

The templars stop and they all see a woman with long pink-hair and dressed in a maid outfit running down the stairs. Her name was Euphemia, the palace's head maiden and Suzaku's lover.

"Hey! Euphemia!" Suzaku said, smiling widely. Euphemia runs over to Suzaku and the two both gave each other a warm embrace.

"Welcome home, Suzaku." Euphemia said into his ear.

"Ah, it's good to have you in my arms again, Euphy." Suzaku said.

"Ahem." Darren coughed.

"Oh right." Suzaku chuckled as he and Euphemia pull away from each other. "Sorry Euphy but my friends and I have a report to make."

"It's okay Suzaku. See you later then." Euphemia said smiling and gave Suzaku a small kiss on his cheek before leaving.

"Shall we get going?" Darren asked. Suzaku nodded, his smile immediately turning into a serious expression.

* * *

><p>In the large gardens of the palace, a woman and an eight-year old girl sat by at a small pond watching several fish swimming around lazily in it.<p>

The woman has long pink hair and dressed in a dark green dress, white gloves and black shoes while the girl was short pink shoulder length hair and dressed in a white dress, white gloves and white shoes.

"Mummy, do you wonder what the fish are thinking?" The little girl asked.

The woman smiled at her daughter and said, "Maybe they are waiting for their next meal, Estellise."

Estellise sighed sadly. "Is this all they think of for the rest of their lives Mummy?"

"Perhaps so. That's why we humans are different from animals." The woman said. Then, she smirks, wraps her arms around Estelle. "Come here!" She said as she now lifts her up in the air and twirls her around, causing Estelle to laugh wholeheartedly.

"Princess Genevieve." A male voice spoke. The woman, now known as Princess Genevieve, places Estelle down as she turns her head and sees a servant, a soldier and an intelligence officer. The servant was a man who has blonde hair and dressed in a black tuxedo walking over to him. The soldier was a woman who has long red hair and dressed in a white winged hat, white uniform, white cape, white pants, black gloves and black boots. The intelligence officer was a woman with dark blue hair and dressed in a brown uniform, a dark green armband around her left upper arm, brown skirt and black boots.

"What is it, Alfred?" Genevieve asked.

"The templars have returned." Alfred said.

"I see." Genevieve nods her head before turning to the two female soldiers. "And what business do you have here Brigadier General Tsubaki Yayoi?"

Tsubaki, the red-haired woman, salutes to the princess and said, "With the Templars' return, your father wants you and your husband to join him in the throne room. Also princess, today your father, his Majesty, has invited a guest into your home."

"And why is that?" Genevieve asked as she stood up.

"The guest claims that she can cure your father's illness." Cecile Croomy, the dark blue-haired woman, said.

Genevieve sighed. "Is it really safe for him to immediately accept offers like that?"

"Milady, you do know your father isn't ready to create sorrow over the kingdom yet." Alfred said.

"I wish to meet this guest first before I could allow him to see my father." Genevieve said.

"Actually, the guest is a woman." Tsubaki pointed out.

Genevieve said to Alfred, "Alfred, take Estellise back to her room."

"Yes milady." Alfred bows his head.

"Mummy?" Estelle asked as she goes over to Genevieve and tugs her dress. "I thought you said we will spend the whole day together."

Genevieve kneels down to her daughter and strokes her hair. "Sorry dear but mummy now has business to do. Please be a good girl and stay in your room." She said calmly to her.

Estelle nods her head reluctantly. "Alright."

Alfred then escorts Estelle back to her room while Genevieve gets up and turns to Tsubaki and Cecile. "Let's go." She said to the Brigadier General and the intelligence officer. Tsubaki and Cecile both turn around and escort the princess into the palace.

* * *

><p>The three women walk down the long corridors with servants bowing down to the princess as they pass by them. Eventually, they arrived at the throne room. Tsubaki opens the large pair of doors. The three women enter the room and they see the four Temzan Templars kneeling before the King and Prince of Temza, both sitting at their respective chairs.<p>

The King of Temza is named King Lucas Heurassein, the prince and Genevieve's father and Estelle's grandfather. He has short white hair, a white moustache and wears a huge golden crown over his head and dressed in golden armor, pauldrons, greaves and a dark blue cape with white fur.

The Prince of Temza is named Prince Eric Heurassein. He is Lucas's son, Genevieve's husband and Estelle's father. He has shoulder-length red hair and wears black uniform, black pants, black shoes, white gloves and also a dark blue cape with white fur.

"Ah, Genevieve, you came just in time." King Lucas said to the princess.

"Forgive me for being a bit late, father." Genevieve said as she stood and bowed her head. The four Templars turn to her, Tsubaki and Cecile.

"Your Highness." Darren said as he nods his head.

"At ease." Genevieve said as she continues walking to her chair.

"At ease." Eric said as well. The four Templars then stood up while Tsubaki and Cecile walk over to them.

"Good to see you again Tsubaki." Noel said smiling at her.

"Yes, indeed." Tsubaki muttered to her as she and Cecile stan next to the templars. Tsubaki places her hands behind her back.

"Royal family, we recently liberated Frankston and we also received reports that our troops have also liberated Caspian, Estuary and Heatherfield. We are nearing Alahorn's border. If we keep this up, we will finally drive the Alahornian forces out of our kingdom." Allelujah said to the royal family.

"That's a relief." Eric said smiling. "We really do want to end this war quickly."

"Royal family, I strongly suggest that once we reached Alahorn's border, we will invade their kingdom and show them why they should never attack us again." Tsubaki said.

"And then what?" Suzaku spoke up, turning to Tsubaki. "Create even more war and lose more of our men?"

"Also, an invasion with Alahorn will strain our relationships with our neighboring countries and we will probably have to fight them as well." Darren added.

"Correct. Besides Tsubaki, an invasion with Alahorn isn't necessary." King Lucas spoke up. "I strongly believe everybody has the power to change. King Lowell of Alahorn may wish to conquer all of Earthland, but sooner or later, he will learn that having all the power in the world is meaningless in the end and all the deaths and destruction he has caused is pointless. I do not wish to invade Alahorn. It's best if all kingdoms of Earthland can be at peace with each other."

Tsubaki places her hand on her chest and bows her head. "Forgive me for what I said earlier." She said.

"Apology accepted." King Lucas said. He turns to the Temzan Templars. "You may all leave now. Get some rest before setting off again in two days time."

"Yes your Majesty." The four Templars said in unison as they all bowed. Tsubaki frowns deeply as she watched Noel standing beside Darren and bowing to the king.

The Templars, Tsubaki and Cecile then turn around and leave the throne room. When they are gone, King Lucas started coughing heavily and pounds his chest.

"Father…" Eric said in concern.

"I'm alright." King Lucas said when he stops coughing. "I hope this guest who I'm inviting today can cure me."

"Speaking of, father, are you sure we can trust this guest?" Genevieve asked. Lucas turns to his daughter.

"Genevieve, I do not wish to leave the world of the living yet. I really wish she can cure me and let me live a little longer." Lucas said to her.

* * *

><p>Tsubaki walks down the hallway with a serious expression on her face. She stops when she heard a voice.<p>

"Tsubaki!"

Tsubaki turns around and sees Noel running over to her. Noel is now wearing a blue beret, a blue and white uniform dress, a red tie around her neck, white gloves, black stockings and blue and white shoes.

"Oh Noel. What is it?" Tsubaki asked.

"Nothing Tsubaki. But I was wondering if we can spend the whole day together?" Noel asked, placing her hands behind her back and smiling innocently at her friend.

"Sorry Noel but my assistant Cecile and I really have a lot of business to attend to." Tsubaki said apologetically to Noel.

"Awww." Noel whined and frowned sadly. "But Tsubaki, it's been so long since we seen and spend time with each other. Can we have a little chat; had lunch together like the good old days?"

"Sorry Noel, but I'm a Brigadier General now. My rank is a very busy one. I must go now." Tsubaki said.

"But Tsubaki…" Noel said reaching out her hand. But Tsubaki ignored her as she turns around and continues walking down the hallway. Noel let out a sad sigh.

"What's wrong Noel?" Noel turns around and sees Darren, still in his Templar armor, walking over to her.

"Nothing Darren. It's Tsubaki." Noel said, turning her head away.

"Tsubaki has always been like that since the academy." Darren shrugs.

"Still, back then, she and I do hang out often. She would always help me with my homework and protect me from bullies." Noel said to him.

"You know what they say Noel. Time do change people." Darren said.

"Hmph." Noel scoffed as she folding her arms in frustration. "Time is so evil." Darren chuckled.

"By the way, I see you change back to your normal uniform." Darren said, looking at Noel's dress.

"I feel more comfortable this way." Noel smiled, placing her hands on her hips. "Do I look pretty?"

"I thought your face is already pretty." Darren said, causing him and Noel to laugh. "Come with me to the palace gardens Noel." Darren said to her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Okay." Noel said before the two walk off.

Unaware to them, Tsubaki was hiding behind a pillar, hearing what they say.

* * *

><p>Darren and Noel both enter the large gardens. Noel stops at the pond while Darren walks over to the balcony.<p>

"What is it you want to talk to me about?" Noel asked Darren as she sits by the pond.

Darren leans at the balcony and said to Noel, "Noel, we have been friends since childhood. Both of us were orphans and we always look out for each other, don't we?"

"Yeah. And then we attended the military academy together." Noel said smiling as she turns to the fishes in the pond. "There, we met Allelujah, Suzaku and Tsubaki. They were all really nice to us and we all quickly became close friends."

"Before we entered the academy, we both made a promise that we will always stick together right?" Darren asked.

"Yes." Noel said. "Darren, what are you trying to say, really?"

Darren took a deep breath. _'Here goes nothing.' _He thought. He turns around and faces Noel. "Noel…can I…I mean we…um…" He turns away as he starts blushing.

"What?" Noel asked, slightly tilting her head to the side.

Darren groans and shakes his head. "Screw this. I'm not good in doing this anyways." He walks over to Noel, who glances at him curiously. He smiles sheepishly at her as he snaps his fingers.

Immediately, Allelujah came out from the bushes and waves at Noel. "Hey Noel." He said smiling as he walks over to her.

"Allelujah?" Noel said. Allelujah walks over to Darren and hands him a small box. Darren takes the box and kneels before Noel.

"Noel…" He said to her, staring into her green eyes. Noel let out a small gasp as Darren slowly opens the box, revealing a shiny diamond ring inside it. "Will you be my wife?"

Noel paused as her eyes feel numb for a moment. She just stared at the ring blankly without saying a word. After a few seconds, Darren broke the silence. "Noel?"

Noel chuckled and wipes her eyes. "Sorry, my eyes had some dirt in it." She said. She was obviously wiping off tears of joy. She smiled at Darren with watery eyes.

"Yes…I do." She whispered to him. Darren smiled and gently removes the ring from the box. He puts away the box and gently takes Noel's right hand and inserts the ring through her index finger.

Darren and Noel smiled at each other for a moment before the two of them embrace each other passionately.

"Noel…Darren…" Allelujah spoke up. The two pull away from their hug and turn to Allelujah who is smiling at them. "Do you two really love each other with all your heart?"

Darren and Noel both nod. "Yes." They both said.

"And will you two stick to each other no matter what happens till death?"

"Yes."

Allelujah smiled warmly and places his hands behind him. "Then you guys are officially engaged then."

"Congratulations!" Euphemia said as she and Suzaku appeared and walk over to them. Euphemia is carrying a tray containing two glasses of wine while Suzaku is holding a camera.

"Congratulations in your engagement, you two." Suzaku smiled at the two. "And after that, Euphemia and I will be the next ones."

"Suzaku!" Euphemia laughed. Darren, Noel and Allelujah laughed wholeheartedly as well. Suzaku then holds up his camera.

"Now smile at the camera!" Suzaku said. Darren and Noel both smile at the camera and hold hands together. "I, 2, 1-2-3-4-5…" With that, Suzaku took a picture and the camera flashes. "There we go."

Darren and Noel turn to Euphemia who handed them a glass of wine each. After taking their glasses, the two turn to each other.

"To us." Darren said to Noel.

"To us." Noel said and the two join their glasses together and they both drink their first wine together as an engaged couple.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to everyone, Tsubaki was standing outside the gardens, watching the whole thing. A flicker of sadness immediately hit Tsubaki's eyes. She turns around and walks down the hallway.<p>

She wraps her arms around herself, feeling cold. Tears rolled down her cheeks freely.

"I guess Darren and I…are never meant to be…"

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: I was originally going to write the whole origin story in one chapter but unexpectedly, it was longer than I thought so I decided to end here for now. Sorry ^^;**

**Anyways, that's part one of Darren's origin story. Stay tune and read and review! ^^**


	24. Jealousy

**Sovereign: Hey guys, i'm back after more than a week! I would like to thank Lightmoon54, splitheart1120, sNoWaNgL, Assault Godzilla and zeprincelini as always for reviewing. :)**

_**Chapter 23: Jealousy**_

A woman dressed in a red mask, silver armor and red cape slowly walk up the stairs leading to the Temzan royal family's palace. The guards open the large pair of doors for her and the woman slowly walks into the palace. The woman also appears to be holding a jar of blood.

After the woman walks further into the palace, the guards close the doors.

"She's the woman who will cure the king?" One of the guards asked the other.

"I hope we can trust her." The other guard replied.

* * *

><p>The masked woman now finds herself standing in front of the royal family; King Lucas, Prince Eric and Princess Genevieve.<p>

"Royal family, allow me to introduce myself." The woman said as she places her hand on her chest and bowed in respect. "My name is the Crimson Duchess and I believe I have a cure for the king's illness."

"And how can you cure my father, Duchess?" Genevieve asked.

The Crimson Duchess holds up her jar of blood. King Lucas leans forward to take a closer look at the jar. "Royal family, this is my medicine to cure your king and father. If I am allowed to inject a certain amount of this magically-enhanced blood into the king's veins, within time, the king will be cured from his illness." She said to them.

"How does blood cure my father's illness?" Eric asked.

"Your king is dying. If he doesn't get new and healthy blood, he will die. But with this special type of blood, your king will be able to live longer as it helps replaces his old and dying blood." The Duchess explained.

"It makes sense to me." King Lucas said, nodding his head.

"Father, are you really sure you want to do this?" Genevieve asked her father.

"Genevieve, Eric, as King of Temza, I will do whatever it takes to live and serve my kingdom longer." Lucas said, narrowing his eyes. "Give me the blood, Duchess."

"With pleasure, your Majesty." The Duchess said. Unbeknownst to the royal family, she was smirking evilly behind her mask.

* * *

><p>Cecile Croomy was walking down the hallway with a large pile of paperwork. Then, she stopped when Suzaku walks over to her.<p>

"Cecile?" Suzaku asked.

"Oh hi Sir Suzaku." Cecile smiled at him.

"Mind if I help you carry your pile of paperwork for ya?" Suzaku asked, smiling at her and extending a hand.

"Oh no, it's fine sir." Cecile chuckled. "I can manage."

Suzaku then frowned and folds his arms. "Cecile, have you seen Tsubaki? She hasn't been seen all afternoon."

"Sorry, me neither." Cecile shook her head. "She was suppose to come to the office but she never show up. Because of that, I'm the one who does all the paperwork for today." She let out another chuckle.

"I see." Suzaku narrows his eyes. "Thanks anyway."

"You're welcome." Cecile nods her head and then carefully walks pass Suzaku. Suzaku is left standing, rubbing his chin.

* * *

><p>Tears are pouring down her face as Tsubaki was sitting next to a pile of hay at the castle stables. Curling up in a ball, she buried her face in her hands, sobbing over the fact that Darren and Noel are officially engaged.<p>

"It's…it's not fair..." Tsubaki said as she wipes the tears off her cheeks. How could Noel Vermillion, a girl whom back at the academy started out as a confused and slow-learning freshman, now able to achieve higher grades than her and becoming engaged with Darren, the man whom Tsubaki always had a crush on?

She remembered the day when she first met noel. She saw her, alone and frightened while being surrounded by a group of bullies. Knowing that she needs help, Tsubaki, back then a hall monitor of the academy, goes over to Noel's sides and chased the bullies away with her superiority. Ever since then, both Noel and Tsubaki became close friends. Tsubaki would now often help Noel with her homework and studies and eventually, Noel decided to introduce her friend Darren to her.

Upon her first sight on Darren, she fell in love with him. She has heard that Darren is a top student and fighter in the academy but she never personally met him, until now. Since then, Tsubaki would often hang out with Noel, but it's actually also an excuse to see Darren too. Unfortunately, she never had the chance to express her true feelings to him, even after graduation which she became a Brigadier General and Darren chosen by the royal family to become a honorary templar and has the power to choose three other students from the academy to be his allies. And unsurprisingly, he chose his closest friends, Noel, Allelujah and Suzaku to join him.

But not her…

Tsubaki closes her eyes and clutches her hands into fists. "I…If only Noel doesn't exist…I could be with Darren…" She uttered.

"Perhaps I could help you."

Tsubaki looks up and turns her head. She is surprised to see a man walking over to her. Even more surprising, it's someone she knows.

"Alfred?" She asked.

Alfred walks over to her and kneels down. "Do you wish to be with Darren?" He asked.

"I…I…" Tsubaki tries to say something, but she couldn't.

"Unfortunately, he's now engaged with Noel Vermillion, isn't he?" Alfred asked frowning.

"Yes…" Tsubaki nods her head in sorrow. "He is."

"Didn't you just say that you wish she didn't exist so that you could be with Darren?" Alfred said, tilting his head.

"Well I…I didn't mean…"

"Tsubaki, it's okay." Alfred said. "Noel was never really your friend…"

"No!" Tsubaki yelled angrily. "You're wrong! Noel is my friend!"

"Please, she never was." Alfred said again. Tsubaki frowned deeply. "I mean think about it, Noel has stolen everything away from you. She may look innocent when you first met her, but over the years, she became smarter and better than you. She has been using you all along to make you help her become a better person than you. And to add even more salt to your wounds, she constantly mocks you by showing you how close she and Darren really are together."

Tsubaki shuts her eyes tightly and shook her head in frustration. "No! It's not true!" She cried.

"Tsubaki…if you ever want Darren to be with you, you have to kill Noel…" Alfred said. He extends his hand and magically, a small jar of blood appeared on it.

"What is this?" Tsubaki asked, looking at the bottle.

"Poisonous blood." Alfred smirked. "When you made your decision, kill Noel with this." He then tosses the jar and it safely lands on the pile of hay next to Tsubaki. He stood up, turns around and makes his leave. Tsubaki turns her head to the jar.

She is left there to make her decision. Will she give into her hatred to kill her own friend?

* * *

><p>Allelujah and Suzaku are now in the archive room located at the bottom of the palace. Allelujah places a ladder on a bookshelf and Suzaku climbs up with it. When he reached the top, Suzaku scans through the archived files. He and Suzaku are not alone in the room however.<p>

"Suzaku?" Suzaku and Allelujah turn their heads and see Euphemia walking over to them with a broom.

"Oh hey Euphy, what are you doing here?" Suzaku asked before turning back to the archived files.

"Cleaning up the palace as always." Euphemia smiled. "What about you two? What are _you_ doing here?"

"Looking through the archives, of course." Suzaku replied.

"For what?" Euphemia asked, arching an eyebrow.

"It's important." Allelujah said to her.

"Found it." Suzaku took out a file and wipes off the dust from it. Allelujah coughed as Suzaku opens the file up, revealing a report made from the Temzan scouts a month ago.

"What is that?" Euphemia asked.

"It's a report regarding the deaths of a Temzan family, including a man, a woman and a teenage girl made by our scouts about a month ago. When the Temzan villagers responsible for their deaths were arrested by our knights, they confessed that they killed a girl with green hair as well. However, our scouts never found her body." Suzaku explained.

"What?" Euphemia widens her eyes.

"That's not all. Recently, ten days ago, we receive a report from the scouts that Mao, an infamous mass murderer, went missing from the asylum located in the nearby town of Battleon. The asylum workers reported to our scouts that blood was everywhere in his room, meaning he may have been killed but his body has disappeared." Allelujah said to her.

Euphemia gasped in horror, causing her to drop the broom. "That's horrible." She said.

"Indeed Euphy." Suzaku said as he closes the file.

"Why did you guys bring this up?" Euphemia asked.

"The guards at the front doors of the palace told me that the guest came in here with a jar of _blood_." Allelujah said.

"After Allelujah told that to me, I went to see Tsubaki, but Cecile says she isn't at her workstation." Suzaku added as he climbs down the ladder.

"Also, we have a question for you Euphemia. This new servant Alfred…when exactly did he start working here?" Allelujah asked.

"Just three days ago…" Euphemia trailed off and widens her eyes. "You don't mean…"

"Yes." Suzaku narrows his eyes. "The royal family is in danger."

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: DUN DUN DUN! What's going to happen now? DX Stay tune and read and review for the third part of Darren's origin story!**


	25. Wake Me When You Need Me

**Sovereign: I would like to thank GoldenRoseTanya, zeprincelini, Lightmoon54, Assault Godzilla, splitheart1120 and sNoWaNgL for reviwing as always! :D**

_**Chapter 24: Wake Me When You Need Me**_

As soon as word got out, all the Temzan soldiers and royal mages stationed in the palace quickly grab their weapons head their way to the throne room.

Darren got out of his room and sees the soldiers and mages running down the hallway.

"You!" Darren shouted at one of the soldiers, causing him to stop.

"Sir!" The soldier salutes to him.

"What's going on?" Darren asked him.

"Suzaku and Allelujah found out that the king's guest and the servant Alfred are infilrators! We are heading to the throne room now to deal with the guest and save the royal family's lives!" The soldier replied.

Darren gasped and then narrows his eyes. "Right, head to the throne room now! I'll find Alfred."

"Yes sir!" The soldier said before joining the other soldiers and mages and continue running to the throne room while Darren goes back into his room to get his katana.

* * *

><p>Prince Eric and Princess Genevieve watched in concern as King Lucas sat on his throne with his left arm and left leg now attached with tubes and plugs to a machine. The Duchess walks over to the machine with the bottle of blood.<p>

"Are you sure this thing will work?" Eric asked the Duchess.

"Relax." The Duchess said, smiling under her mask. "I know what I'm doing." She now places the bottle onto the machine, ready to inject the blood into the king's body. "Rest assure your Majesty. You will be cured in no time."

Suddenly, an arrow flew by the Duchess' face, streaking and cutting across her right cheek. Lucas gasped as the arrow narrowly misses him and the arrow pierced on the wall behind the throne.

The Duchess turns to the doorway to see Suzaku and Allelujah with a large group of soldiers and mages behind them.

"Release the king, Duchess." Allelujah demanded flatly as he takes out another arrow and aims at the Duchess.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Tsubaki opens the door of the palace's art gallery, allowing Noel to enter the room.<p>

"Tsubaki, why did you bring me here?" Noel asked puzzled as she steps into the art gallery.

"Noel, I thought you said to me that you want me to spend the whole day with you?" Tsubaki said to her smiling.

"Oh yes! I forgot about that. Heh." Noel chuckled sheepishly as she strokes the back of her head. While Noel isn't looking, Tsubaki's eyebrows furrowed as she takes out the bottle of blood from her back and under her cape, the same bottle Alfred given to her earlier. Tsubaki has finally made her decision. She is going to poison Noel.

When Noel turns to Tsubaki, she quickly hid the jar and turns to her blonde-haired friend with a smile.

"So Tsubaki, which art piece should look at together first?" Noel asked.

"I don't know. Why don't you pick one for us?" Tsubaki said as she slowly closes the door. However, before she could close the door all the way, somebody's hand slip through the doorway and stops the door from closing. Tsubaki and Noel widen their eyes as the person pushes the door open and enters the gallery. It was Darren.

"Darren?" Noel asked.

"Noel! Thank God you're safe." Darren said as he goes over to her and embraces her.

"Darren? What's going on?" Noel asked puzzled. Darren gently pulls her away.

"Noel, the royal family is in danger! We have to save them!" Darren said. Noel nods her head.

"Let's go!" She said. But when the two turn around, Tsubaki has closed the door and glares coldly at them. "Tsubaki?"

"Tsubaki, what's going on?" Darren asked.

"I've come too far now. I can't let her go." Tsubaki said icily.

"Tsubaki…" Noel said, now frightened.

"What are you doing Tsubaki?" Darren asked glaring as he gets ready to unsheathe his katana. Then, the two watched as Tsubaki's cold death glare distorts into a sad frown. She clutches her chest in despair.

"Darren…why? Why did you choose her over me?!" Tsubaki yelled in despair, pointing at Noel.

"What are you talking about Tsubaki?" Darren asked

"Tsubaki, I don't understand!" Noel cried.

"Darren…I…I love you." Tsubaki confessed to Darren. Darren and Noel widen their eyes. "Darren, I love you. You are the only person I could ever fall in love with." Her sad frown now turns into a scowl. "And yet you chose that…THAT _**WIMP**_!" She shouted angrily, pointing at Noel again.

Darren and Noel gasped. Noel is shocked to hear Tsubaki, her closest friend, calling her a wimp. How could her friend say that to her?

"Tsubaki! How could you say that?!" Darren shouted angrily. "I still like you Tsubaki, as a friend. Doesn't mean I'm marrying Noel does not mean I will now disregard you. Noel and I will still treat you as a friend!"

"A friend you say?" Tsubaki said, clutching her fists. "JUST A FRIEND?! NO! I will not accept that! I will get rid of Noel and have you all for myself!" She let out a scream as she now draws out her dagger and charges towards Darren and Noel.

Darren then draws out his katana and both him and Tsubaki clash their weapons together and stayed at a stalemate. "You're making me do this Tsubaki!" Darren yelled.

"Yayoi!" Tsubaki turns her head and sees Noel pointing her revolvers at her. "Tsubaki, I don't want to hurt you."

Tsubaki narrows her eyes at Noel. "I will have Darren all for myself. I must."

* * *

><p>"Allelujah! Suzaku!" Genevieve yelled in shock.<p>

"Your Highness, the Duchess is trying to kill the king!" Suzaku shouted as he points his spear at the Duchess.

Eric and Genevieve turn their heads to the Duchess as she starts to cackle evilly. "Alright, I've been outnumbered. I surrender." She said as she places her bottle of blood down and holds her hands down.

Allelujah turn to the soldiers and mages and gestures them to surround the Duchess. All 40 soldiers and mages immediately obeyed and surround the Crimson Duchess.

"We're taking you in." Suzaku said as he and Allelujah let down their weapons and walk over to the Duchess. However, the Duchess makes her move.

Immediately, she kneels down and slams her right fist on the ground. This sends everybody present in the room except the King to be levitated into the air. In addition, while they are levitating helplessly in the air, none of them could feel their bodies and could not use their weapons or magic.

"What…have…you…done?" Suzaku asked, twitching an eye.

The King tries to get up but the Duchess magically summons a spear and points the spear a his throat. The Duchess turns to the royal family, Allelujah and Suzaku. "And now, you will all have the honor to watch my first groundbreaking experiment. Turning the King into my personal creation and servant!" The Duchess proclaimed.

"NO!" Genevieve screamed in despair.

* * *

><p>"Ugh!" Tsubaki groaned in pain as she is pushed back and slams against the wall. She falls to the ground and Darren and Noel point their katana and revolver at her face.<p>

"Tsubaki, don't do this to us." Darren said as he and Noel breathed heavily.

"I…I just wanted you to accept me, Darren…" Tsubaki said sadly as she turns her head away from them.

"Tsubaki…" Noel uttered.

**THWARP!**

"ARGH!" Darren and Noel suddenly yelled in agony. Tsubaki turns her head back to them and widen her eyes in horror as she sees knives being stab through their bodies.

When the person behind Darren and Noel remove his knives, the two templars drop their weapons and back away from Tsubaki and fall to the ground.

"You have done well, Tsubaki." Alfred smirked as he puts his knives away.

"Alfred?" Tsubaki said, her eyes widened in horror.

"Actually, my real name is Relius." Relius smirked as he looks down at Darren and Noel, both lying on their pools of blood and clutching their wounds in pain. "I was originally going to ask you kill Noel but I thought to myself, why not a male Templar as well?"

"Damn you.." Darren said in pain. "What…are you trying to do?!"

"The Duchess and I are planning to turn at least two people into our personal creations and servants to help Alahorn take over this kingdom." Relius said, revealing his and the Duchess's plans. He turns to Tsubaki and smiled at her. "And thanks to you Tsubaki, our plan is near fruition."

"No…" Tsubaki uttered. "What…have I done?" Tsubaki helplessly watched as Relius kneels down and grabs Darren and Noel by their hair and the two scream in agony.

"Now Tsubaki, would you let to volunteer by plating the blood into their bodies for me?" Relius smirked.

"Don't…do it…Tsubaki…" Noel struggled to say.

"All I wanted was to have Darren…not kill him…" Tsubaki said as her eyes are now teary.

"Do it now Tsubaki." Relius demanded as his smile now turns into a scowl. "Give into your hatred…AND DO IT!"

"Tsubaki, please…" Darren groaned in pain.

Tsubaki looks down at the bottle of blood, then looks up at Relius, then looks down again. _'I…I can't hurt the man I loved…' _She thought to herself. With that, she closes her eyes and tosses the bottle of blood away.

"Tch." Relius grits his teeth. "I knew it." He releases Darren and Noel and extends his hand. Suddenly, Tsubaki gasped as she felt her neck is being strangled. As Relius stood up, Tsubaki levitates up the air and she struggles to breath.

"Tsubaki!" Noel yelled in horror as she watched.

"NO!" Darren shouted. Relius turns to the bottle of blood and uses his other hand to magically summon it. The bottle flies over to him and he grabs it. He then tosses Tsubaki aside and she is sent sprawling through the ground.

Relius walks over to the wounded Noel. Noel tries to get up but Relius stomps on her back and the area where he stabbed her, causing her to let out an ear-piercing scream.

"NOEL!" Darren shouted.

Relius then removes his foot, kneels down to her and grabs her hair again to lift her up from the ground. "And now Noel…_unleash your inner self_." Relius turns to his bottle and he uses his magic to magically open the lid of the bottle. After he removes the lid, he turns to Noel's wound where blood continues to pour out and stain her dress. Relius then gets ready to thrust the bottle into her wound and about to insert the poisonous blood into her wound that will change her form completely.

"NOOOOOO!"

Darren quickly gets up from the ground despite his pain and gets in the way. Relius widens his eyes as he accidentally thrusts the bottle into Darren's wound into Noel instead!

"No…" Tsubaki muttered as she watched. Relius then lets out of noel and Darren falls to the ground, the bottle now stuck inside his wound.

"Darren?" Noel let out a whimper as she turns her head to him. Everyone present in the room watched as Darren rolls over the ground in intense pain. He groans as the pain is too overwhelming for me. Suddenly, his eyes turn gold and he let out a scream.

* * *

><p>Darren opens his eyes and finds himself standing alone in a completely black room. "Where…am I?" Darren uttered.<p>

"Yes…you are the perfect body…" A voice uttered.

"What?" Darren said as now, a lime green-haired woman magically appears right in front of him. "Who…are you?"

"I'm your blood and I'm now in your veins." CC smirked. "With your body, I can finally walk around the living world again." She walks over to Darren casually. Darren tries to back away but for some reason, he couldn't move at all.

Darren's mouth agape as CC now stands right in front of him and places her hand on his forehead. "And now, I'm taking over this body." Darren could feel that CC is trying to take control of his veins and he let out an agonizing scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

* * *

><p>Relius backs away as Darren slowly gets up. He looks down at the bottle and removes it with his right hand. After tossing it away, the fingers of his right hand turns into sharp claws and slowly, his entire right arm turns red.<p>

"It's working…" Relius said, a smile appearing on his face. "IT'S WORKING!"

"No…." Tsubaki uttered as she watched Darren transforming into a completely different being.

"NO! DARREN!" Noel screamed in horror as she reaches out her hand.

Then, Darren stops and stood where he is without moving a muscle. Then, he lifts his head up and his eyes have turned gold.

"**Darren…is no more…"** He said in a completely distorted voice. Unbeknownst to everyone, the voice actually belongs to CC.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Relius yelled happily as he spreads out his arms and walks over to Darren. "Now then CC, with your new body, we can-"

Suddenly, Darren let out a yelp and he's now clutching his head in pain.

"What? What's going on?" Relius said, looking puzzled.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to everyone, Darren is fighting CC inside his body in order to try to regain control of himself.<p>

CC gasped as Darren now has his hands wrap around her neck.

"You will let me go!" Darren yelled at her.

"You…fool!" CC said, gasping for air. "What…are you doing?!"

"Getting rid of you! That's what!" Darren shouted, tightening his grip around her neck.

* * *

><p>Because of the fighting inside his mind and body, Darren's body is moving around uncontrollably. Relius grits his teeth.<p>

"Why is my experiment failing?!" Relius yelled. While that's going on, Noel turns her head and sees her revolver next to her. Her face is turning pale as she is losing lots of blood. She slowly reaches out her hand to grab her revolver.

"Darren! Stop this!" Tsubaki cried as she gets up and runs over to Darren whom is clutching his head in pain and yelling.

Relius sees her and reaches out his hand at her, lifting her up in the air magically again.

"Let…me…go…" Tsubaki said as Relius tightens his grip ar0ound her neck.

"No one interfere my experiment!" Relius shouted at her.

"No." Noel moaned in a pathetic tone. Relius turns to her with a cold glare. "He's not your experiment with mess with." She lifts up her revolver and quickly fires a shot at him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Relius drops Tsubaki and backs away as his left eye is now bleeding as a bullet shot through it.

Noel turns back to Darren who is still yelling in pain and shaking around back and forth.

"Darren…fight it…" Noel uttered.

* * *

><p>"I will not let you control me." Darren said to CC.<p>

CC grabs Darren's wrists and said to him, "If you get rid of me, we both die."

"So be it." Darren narrows his eyes.

"What?! NO!" CC cried. "I don't want to die! I WANT TO LIVE!"

Darren widens his eyes for a moment, and then narrows them again. "Then if you don't want to die, you will let me regain my control over my body!" He yelled. He tightens his grip around CC's neck again.

"I…yield!" CC managed to say out. With that, Darren let out a sigh and releases his grip around CC. The girl fell to her knees, clutches her neck and gasps for air. CC looks up as Darren now stands above her.

"I'll be taking back my body now."

* * *

><p>Darren's eyes and arms turn back to normal. His head is no longer in pain and he has finally regain controls of himself. Instantly, Darren widens his eyes and looks up to see what has happened. He turns to Tsubaki who is lying on the ground motionlessly. He now turns to Relius who has blood pouring down furiously from his left eye. He looks up at Darren, covering his wound.<p>

"It seems my experiment has failed. Hope the Duchess has better luck than me." With that, Relius takes out a smoke grenade and throws it to the floor, bursting huge amounts of smoke.

"HEY!" Darren shouted as he runs over to the spot where Relius was originally at. But when the smoke is cleared, he's completely vanished. "Damn it!"

"Darren?"

Darren gasped, instantly recognizing that voice. It was Noel. He turns to Noel who is still lying on her own pool of blood.

"NOEL!" Darren shouted as he runs over to her. He kneels down and lifts her up from the ground. "Noel, hang in there! Please!"

Noel slowly opens her eyes and sees Darren in front of her. "Darren? Is...that you?"

"Yes Noel. Please…you have to hold on. I'm getting you out of here!" Darren cried, growing more frantic.

"Darren…I can't make it…" She whispered as she shifts her eyes away. "I'm…too cold…"

"No Noel! We promise we would get married! Have children! Stay together til death!" Darren cried, his eyes now welling with tears. "You have to hold on!"

Then he heard a noise. He turns around and sees Tsubaki picking up Noel's other revolver.

"Tsubaki?" Darren said to her.

"I…I'm sorry that I caused you pain, Darren…" Tsubaki sobbed with tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Tsubaki…put down the gun. NOW!" Darren shouted.

Tsubaki shook her head sadly. "Sometimes…I forget you guys are my friends…" She then holds up the gun…and points it at the side of her head.

"NOOO!" Darren shouted as he extends a hand at Tsubaki. But it was too late.

**BANG!**

A bullet shot through Tsubaki's head and instantly, she falls to the ground on her back. The Brigadier General is no more.

Darren could only shook in horror with his eyes almost bulged open. He could remember the beautiful red-haired girl who would always hang out with him and Noel during lunch breaks back in the academy. But now…that girl has ceased to exist.

"Darren…"

Darren turns back to Noel and he trembled. "Noel…" He said.

"Thank you…" Noel said, managed to pull off a smile on her face as a tear is now rolling freely down her cheek. "Thank you…for being the closest friend…I ever had…I…I loved you…"

"I loved you too Noel." Darren replied as he embraces Noel passionately. "More than anything and anybody!"

Noel looks skywards. "Mom…Dad…I'm coming…" With one final gasp of breath, she rolls her eyes back, closes her eyelids and her head slumps to the side.

Noel Vermillion is gone…

"Noel?" Darren said. He gently pulls Noel's body away from him and gazed upon her lifeless face. "NOEL!"

In a pitch of rage and sadness, Darren wailed out in agonizing pain. The love of his life is gone and that's nothing more devastating than that. All his dreams of being her for a lifetime is gone.

The room now has two dead bodies. Two dead friends. What had been a trio of friends now reduced to one.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps.

"DARREN!" A woman screamed as she enters the gallery. It was Cecile. She turns to Darren and sees that he is still embracing the lifeless body of Noel.

"Darren! It is horrible!" Cecile shouted. "The king! He has become a monster! He's destroying everything in its path, including the capital!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, outside the palace, the King himself has become a monster. King Lucas, a man who has been admired by everyone in his kingdom, is now killing his own people and followers. Several humans and Krityans scream as the King uses his demonic arm and shot a huge demonic blast at a row of houses, destroying them all in one blow.<p>

One unfortunate group was running down the road but the debris of the houses fall and crash onto them.

"Mommy!" A boy sobbed as he walks down the road helplessly, crying his heart out. "Daddy!"

Juvia watched in horror as the boy walks pass her. "Why…why is this happening?" She uttered to herself.

"Juvia! Keep moving!" Her brother yelled as she grabs her shoulder and pushes her. She, her brother and her family quickly run down the road, trying to escape.

Suddenly, the King shot another demonic blast and fires at the house where Juvia lives. Immediately, a man comes out of the house and rolling on the ground, his body now engulfed in flames.

Juvia turns her head as she runs and watches this display in horror.

"NO!" Her mother yelled as the King fires another demonic blast, this time at them!

Her brother gasped and quickly pushes Juvia out of the way. "GET DOWN!" He yelled as Juvia is roughly pushed back. Juvia watched as the blast hits her family. She could vaguely see her brother smile at her one last time before he, along with her parents burn and scatter into ashes.

Juvia fell to the ground. "Nii…Nii-sama?" She uttered. "NII-SAMA!"

* * *

><p>Allelujah moaned in pain as he groggily opens his eyes. He slowly gets up from the floor and his vision becomes clearer. He gasped in horror as he sees Prince Eric, literally staring at him with lifeless eyes. Allelujah backs and crawls away in fear. He then looks around and sees that the throne room is now filled with corpses and the room doors are burst open.<p>

"Sir Allelujah?"

Allelujah turns his head and sees Princess Genevieve, lying on the floor with one arm. Her left arm has been torn off.

"Princess!" Allelujah cried as he crawls over to her. "Oh God…who did this?!" Then he remembered who was originally in the room. "The Duchess! Damn her!"

He looks around frantically and sees that the Crimson Duchess is nowhere in sight.

"Allelujah…" Genevieve uttered. The templar turns back to her. "Go to the second floor of the West Wing…find my daughter Estellise…she will be the last family member of royal blood…save her…save Temza's monarchy…" Genevieve then closes her eyes and let out one final gasp before leaving the world of the living.

"Princess!" Allelujah shouted. But he knows this is no time for mourning. Genevieve's right. If he could save Estellise, the monarchy shall still live on. Allelujah turns his head and sees his bow and arrows. He quickly got up, grabs his weapons and ran off.

* * *

><p>"SOMEBODY! HELP ME!" Estellise shouted as she slams against the door of her room. Her room is caught in flames. The bed and cardboard behind her is burning and the room is filled with poisonous smoke! Estellise coughed heavily.<p>

Suddenly, she heard a voice.

"Stand back!" Estellise gasped and she immediately obeyed and move away from the door. Allelujah kicks the door open and sees Estellise in front of him.

Allelujah smiled and reach out his arms at her. "Come Princess, I'm getting you out of here."

* * *

><p>Suzaku slowly staggers down the corridors, clutching his bleeding left arm which has a huge gash on it thanks to Duchess's spears. He never knew Duchess's spears were planted with dark paralyzing magic that would damaged his veins and now, his left arm is useless to him. His right leg is also useless too as it has a huge cut on the thigh, also made by Duchess's spear. The corridors were filled with piles of dead soldiers and mages. He knows the Kingdom of Temza is coming to an end.<p>

"Suzaku!" A voice shouted. Euphemia runs over to Suzaku from behind. She goes over to his side and widens her eyes in horror at his wound.

"Hey Euphy…" Suzaku said, giving a small smile to her.

"Hang in there Suzaku! I'll help you!" Euphemia said.

"Sssh! Someone's coming." Suzaku said. He and Euphy turn to the front and see Darren walking over to them while carrying Noel's lifeless body in his arms. "Darren…" He said to him, then gasped at the lifeless body. "NOEL! What happened?!"

Darren fell to his knees and gently places Noel's lifeless body on the floor. "I…" Darren trembled. "I…"

"What do we have here?"

Darren turns his head around and he, Suzaku and Euphy sees the Crimson Duchess standing at the corridor with her hands on her hips.

Suzaku grits his teeth angrily. "Crimson Duchess!" He tries to take a step but he winces in pain.

"No! Don't move!" Euphemia said as she stops him.

"Looks like CC is inside your body now. Originally she was meant for Miss Vermillion there, but I guess you are the perfect substitute for her, Darren Leong." The Duchess said, smirking under her mask.

"So it was you…" Darren said, now trembling in rage and anger. "You are the one who made that poisonous blood that is now inside me?"

"What?" Suzaku widens his eyes at Darren. "You have it too?!"

"CC, I know you can hear me!" the Duchess yelled flatly.

Suddenly, Darren's eyes turn golden. **"Yes, Duchess…"**

"It looks to me that unlike Mao who is inside the king's body right now, you couldn't control his body completely upon first injection."

"**I'm sorry Duchess. I won't-"**

"Yes, you won't fail me again." Duchess said as she extends her hand and suddenly, Darren is being controlled by her. Darren's eyes turn back to normal. "Oh well, at least I still have the power to still control my dark magic that is now flowing in Darren's DNA." She smirked.

Duchess turns Darren around and he is now facing Suzaku and Euphemia.

"What are you doing?" Darren yelled in despair.

"Kill them." Duchess said. "There shouldn't be any survivors in this palace, King Lowell's orders." Suzaku and Euphemia gasped.

"NOOO!" Darren shouted.

"Darren, don't do it!" Suzaku said to him.

"I'm…trying…" Darren managed to say but the Duchess uses her magic to make him turn his arms into demonic arms and now aims them at the templar and the maid.

"Kill them already!" Duchess shouted.

"Let's get out of here Suzaku!" Euphemia cried but Suzaku uses his other hand to grab her wrist tightly.

"Didn't you say to me one night we'll be lovers…til the end?" Suzaku asked Euphemia. Euphy gazed at Suzaku with tears welling up in her eyes.

"PLEASE! GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Darren shouted at them.

Euphemia closes her eyes, letting tears roll down her cheeks. She goes over to Suzaku and embraces him. "Til the end." She said.

"NOOOOOO!" Darren shouted again. But it was too late. Two balls of demonic energy appear in Darren's hands and he unwillingly fires his demonic blast at Suzaku and Euphemia, turning both of them into ashes.

The Duchess releases her grip on Darren and he fell to his knees. His face looks completely pale over the loss of Suzaku and Euphemia. Two more friends of Darren are gone.

"Huh, hugging together before they die. Never had that in any of more kills before." The Duchess said, flexing her arms.

Darren then slowly got up and he is now clutching his fists tightly.

"Oh I get it, you're getting angry now, are you?" Duchess smirked mischievously under her mask.

"Duchess…I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!" Darren shouted as he turns around and runs up to her while drawing out his katana but the Duchess simply reaches out her hand at him, causing him to stop at his tracks.

She let out a sigh as she walks up to him while taking out a spear. "Guess it's time for me to end this." She aims her spear at his heart.

"_Duchess?!" CC said in shock while seeing this from inside Darren's body._

"No…NOOOO!" Darren shouted.

Suddenly, an arrow was shot into the back of Duchee's right leg.

"UGH!" She cried out in pain as she fell on one knee and drops her spear. Darren is also released and falls to the ground. The Duchess turns around and sees Allelujah aiming his bow and arrow at her.

"I will finish you off this time!" Allelujah shouted. The Duchess apused for a moment, then let out an evil cackle.

"Kill me if you want. But it will never help Temza recover from its damage." She points at the window. Allelujah turns to the window and widens his eyes in horror. King Lucas is outside in his demonic form, destroying everything in the Capital.

The Duchess smirked. She takes this opportunity to wrap her red cape around herself. Allelujah turns back to the Duchess and shouted, "HEY!" He fires an arrow at her but it was too late. The Duchess has magically disappeared and the arrow hit the carpet instead.

Allelujah puts away his bow and runs over to Darren and helps him get up. "Darren!" He said.

Darren looks up at Allelujah with pain and sorrow. "Allelujah…my friend…" Tears well up in his eyes. "Friend…" She remembers Noel, Tsubaki, Suzaku and Euphemia. All of them dead with two being killed by his own hands. He sobs onto Allelujah's chest.

Allelujah embraces Darren. "Darren, it's okay. I'm still here."

An ear-piercing scream interrupts their moment of silence. Darren and Allelujah look out the window and watch the destruction of Kalafina.

"Darren, Kalafina is…gone…and the whole world is going to blame the king for destroying it." Allelujah said sadly. Darren pulls away from Allelujah and slowly gets up.

"No. I won't let King Lucas die as a villain. I'll take the blame." Darren said.

"_Then let's do this." CC said smirking inside him._

Darren's eyes turn gold and his arms turn demonic. Allelujah gasped in horror. "You're…" He said.

Darren turns to Allelujah and speaks in his distorted voice. But this time, it belongs to Darren himself. "Allelujah, give her a proper burial." He gestures to Noel's lifeless body on the floor.

Allelujah frowned deeply at the lifeless corpse of Noel. He turns back to Darren and nods his head. Immediately, Darren takes a few steps back, then runs over and smashes through the window, jumping over into the city.

* * *

><p>King Lucas let out a roar as by now, about three quarters of the city is burning in flames. Suddenly, Darren lands behind him. Lucas turns around and sees him.<p>

Darren then got up and gets into a fighting stance. **"I'm sorry…your Majesty…" **With that, he let out a yell and charges at the King.

The King charges at Darren as well. When they made contact with each other, a massive burst of dark energy erupted, their power clashing as the two men made their final strike.

When it subsided, Darren and King Lucas stood close to each other, staring into each other's eyes. There was a tense moment of silence. Suddenly, the King regurgitated blood, gasping in pain. Looking down, he saw that Darren's claw had gone straight through his stomach. He looked back up at Darren, his eyes wide with pain as blood trickled from his mouth.

_CC smiled at Mao from inside Darren. "Sayonara, Mao."_

_Mao made a small smirk at her with a hole now through his stomach. "Well…at least it's been fun…"_

Darren withdrew his arm around the King's stomach and Lucas falls to the ground defeated.

"_Heh…I never thought I would perish…again…" Mao closes his eyes one last time before he vanishes from King Lucas's DNA._

Lucas's eyes turn back to normal and he closes his eyes. The King is now dead.

Darren looks around at the destruction of Kalafina, With all of his rage and sadness, he let out an agonizing roar.

"**HEAR ME PEOPLE OF TEMZA! FOR YOUR CITY IS DESTROYED BY ME! THE DEMON PRINCE!"**

With that, Darren looks around and randomly fires demonic blasts everywhere around the city, destroying even more houses and buildings in a fit of rage.

* * *

><p>A girl named Ada Clover was carrying her three-year old brother while running through the forest. She kept on running ever since Kalafina started burning.<p>

"Will we see mom and dad again?" Her brother asked.

Ada looks down at her brother and smiled. "Don't worry Carl. We will."

* * *

><p>Cecile is now driving on a military jeep with Estellise seated on the back. As Cecile drives far away from the capital, Estellise turns around and takes a look at the burning city one last time.<p>

"Sit back down Princess." Cecile said in a gentle one while looking at Estellise through the front mirror. "It's unsafe for you to do that."

After a while, she turns around, sits back down on her seat, closes her eyes and allow tears to roll down her cheeks. "Mom…dad…grandpa…"

* * *

><p>When morning came, the burning of the city is over and now, Kalafina, once a prosperous and beautiful city, is nothing but a burnt graveyard.<p>

Not far away from the capital was a grassy field. Both Darren and Allelujah are standing in front of a gray stone planted below a small tree.

"And so we commit our fallen friend, Noel Vermillion, to her final rest." Allelujah said before closing a Bible. Darren goes over to the stone and sank to his knees. He gently place Noel's favorite blue beret, her revolvers and her golden ring which she wore in front of a portrait of her.

"Rest in peace…my love…" Darren said as a tear freely rolled down his right cheek. Allelujah goes over to Darren from behind and places his hands gently on his shoulders.

Darren's life is empty now. There is nothing for him now…

* * *

><p>Allelujah and Darren are in the dark basement of the now destroyed palace. They both see an undamaged coffin placed at the corner of the basement.<p>

"There's still one left untouched." Darren uttered as he and Allelujah go over. "You know what to do. Once I'm inside, chained up this coffin and put a spell over me that will make me asleep permanently.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Allelujah asked sadly. He is now holding metal chains and a spell book.

"There's nothing left for me Allelujah." Darren said, sounding depressed as he removes the lid of the coffin. "And if I stay alive, I will be nothing but a burden to the entire Earthland." He gets into the coffin and lies down in a straight position. "It's best if I don't roam around this world."

Allelujah goes over to him and Darren turns his head to his friend. "Allelujah, promise me you will live on, find love, have a family, settle down…unlike me."

Allelujah nods his head. He grabs the lid of the coffin and holds it over Darren. "I'll miss you, my closest friend." He said.

Darren's eyes softened. "Wake me…when you need me…"

With that, Allelujah closes the coffin. A few drops of tears splash onto it. Allelujah wipes the tears off his eyes and apply the chains over the coffin. The Demon Prince will not roam around Earthland again…

_Until ten years later…_

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: Wow. I never thought it would be THIS long. This is now the longest chapter of this story. Anyways, that's the end of Darren's origin story. Not a happy ending, isn't it? :( Stay tune and read and review as in the next chapter, we go back to present time.**

**P.S. to Assault Godzilla: Do you know what the chapter's name and Darren's last words are a reference to? *Makes a goofy smile***


	26. Forgiveness and Resolutions

**Sovereign: I would like to thank Assault Godzilla, Lightmoon54, splitheart1120, GoldenRoseTanya and zeprincelini for reviewing. Thanks guys!**

_**Chapter 25: Forgiveness and Resolutions**_

**Present time…**

Everyone is currently resting in the ruins of Kalafina. Erza, Estelle, Juvia and Lucy are currently in the palace's soldier's bathroom, all four of them taking a shower. After taking their showers, they all sat at the dressing area putting back on their clothing.

Lucy sighed happily as she puts on her blue jacket. "Wow. Who would have thought that the showers in a ruined palace can still function after ten years?"

"It's about time we had a bath too. This is probably the first time we had one in a week." Erza smiled as she dries her hair with a towel.

Lucy turns to Juvia and sees her sitting on the bench putting on her hat. "Juvia? Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yeah fine." Juvia replied. Erza turns to Estelle who is also sitting at the bench with a frown.

"Right, both of you were Temzans." Erza uttered.

"I never thought I would finally return home after a decade." Estelle said sadly. Juvia stood up and turns to Lucy.

"Lucy-san?" Juvia said to her.

"Yes?" Lucy said, turning her head to her.

"Juvia would like to see Darren-sama." Juvia said, clutching her fists.

Erza narrows her eyes. "Juvia, remember what we agreed back at Alahorn? No killing the Demon Prince until we get answers."

"Don't worry." Juvia said to Erza. "Juvia won't. Juvia just want to ask Darren if he really kill Juvia's family."

"Go ahead and ask him, Juvia." Estelle said as she stood up. She then turns to Erza, Lucy and Juvia with a cold glare. "But for me, once you're done talking to him, I will kill the Demon Prince no matter what. Because I will _never_ forgive him."

"Estelle!" Lucy cried. But Estelle ignores her, turns around and makers her leave. Erza turns to Lucy.

"Let her be." Erza said to Lucy.

"What? But Erza…" Lucy said in worry.

"Lucy, it's no use convincing her. Only she herself has the power to decide whether she will walk the path of killing."

Lucy frowned deeply, but nevertheless obeyed what Erza said to her. She turns her head away in worry.

"Estelle…" She uttered.

* * *

><p>As soon as Estelle steps out of the bathroom, she closes the door and walks down the hallway.<p>

"This really is a nice palace you have."

Estelle stops and turns her head to see Yuri standing in the middle of the hallway, staring at a huge portrait hanging on the wall. Yuri turns his head to her and smiled, "You must be Princess Estellise."

Estelle narrows her eyes at him. "How do you know who I am, prince of Alahorn?"

"There were stories that when Temza was destroyed, the entire royal family perished except their daughter." Yuri turns his head back to the portrait. The portrait was a picture of Prince Eric and Princess Genevieve sitting together with a young Estelle sitting on her mother's lap and all three of them were smiling.

Estellise walks over to him and turns to the portrait. She frowned deeply as she stares at it. "Mom…Dad…"

Yuri turns to Estelle and noticed the sad expression on her face. "I know how you feel. And I'm sorry." He said in sorrow.

Estelle turns to Yuri and gave him a cold glare. "I don't need your pity and sorrow. Especially from the son of the king of Alahorn." She said icily.

"Hey relax." Yuri said as he backs away. "I don't wish to cause any trouble."

Estelle then walks closer to Yuri. Yuri widens his eyes at her. "Let me warn you. I will never associate myself with anybody from Alahorn. Because every Alahornian is an enemy to me. If you ever come near or talk to me again, I will show no mercy." She said coldly to him. Estelle then turns her head away from Yuri and walks away.

Yuri watched as Estelle continues walking down the hallways. He sighed as he places his hands on his hips. "For someone younger than me, she sure is scary." He said.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back at the town below the palace, Wendy, Lihua and Carl were chatting with each other while sitting at a bench together.<p>

"Hello! It's nice to meet you!" Wendy smiled sweetly at Lihua. Wendy is at least an inch taller than Lihua but two inches shorter than Carl. "I'm Wendy Marvell, the sky dragon slayer of Fairy Tail!" Lihua giggled as she smiles at Wendy.

"And I'm Carl Clover." Carl greeted as he adjusts his hat. Lihua turns to him. Carl is the tallest of the three as he is two inches taller than Wendy and three inches taller than Lihua. "Young wizard and bodyguard of Princess Estelle!"

Lihua giggled again. "And I'm Jiang Lihua. I'm…" She smiles sheepishly as she scratches the back of her head. "Just a normal Temzan village girl."

Carl blushed upon seeing Lihua. _'She sure has a cute smile.'_ He thought.

"So how old are you?" Wendy asked Lihua and she turns her head to the sky dragon slayer. "I'm twelve years old!"

"And I'm thirteen." Carl said, pointing his thumb at himself.

'_She must be eleven…'_ Both Wendy and Carl thought to themselves.

"I'm fourteen!" Lihua replied smiling. Both Wendy and Carl then widen their eyes and drop their jaws in shock.

'_F-f-f-f-fourteen?!'_ Both of them thought. Lihua's smile disappears and looks at the both of them curiously.

"Something wrong?" She asked the two.

"Oh nothing!" Wendy said, chuckling as she waves her hands at Lihua. "If you excuse me, I would like to see how my fellow nakama are doing!" She then gets up and quickly walks away.

"She sure is weird." Carl said as he and Lihua watched her leave.

Lihua giggled. "She's funny to me."

Wendy then walks over to a dark corner of the town. She starts wailing unhappily as she fell to her knees. "I thought there's finally somebody here who is younger than me!" She sobbed as she wipes her tears from her eyes.

"Awww, don't cry Wendy!" Happy said as he walks over to her from behind. "At least you're still taller and older than me. I'm only six years old!"

"But you are not a human being so I'm technically still the youngest human here!" Wendy yelled unhappily at him before turning her head away and continues sobbing.

Charle then angrily walks over to Happy and drags him away by pulling his wing.

"You are not helping!" She said angrily.

"But Charle! At least I tried!" Happy cried.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Darren is back in the house sitting at a dining table with Mirajane, CC, Jellal and Gray.<p>

"So let me get this straight, you live in Darren's DNA and is the one who provides him his demonic powers." Jellal, who is sitting next to Mirajane, said to CC. CC, who is sitting between Darren and Gray, nods her head.

"Interesting. But may I ask why can't you just stay outside of Darren's body instead of just living inside him all the time?" Gray asked her.

"No, I can't. This current form I'm in right now isn't a real human body. It's made of blood. If I don't go back inside Darren's body within 72 hours, I'll dehydrate and die. And right, I'm 16 and a half hours outside Darren's body." CC explained.

"Mirajane…" Darren spoke up.

"What is it?" Mirajane asked.

"I'm sorry that I injured you back at Alahorn." Darren said apologetically.

Mirajane perked up and smiled sweetly at Darren. "It's okay Darren. No need to apologize." Darren widens his eyes, surprised to see Mirajane forgiving so easily.

"It's alright Darren." Gray smiled. Darren turns to him. "We Fairy Tail members are learnt to forgive each other. Even the worst enemies have the potential to change."

"Thank you." Darren nods his head. "but may I ask, why is Fairy Tail wanting to hunt me down?"

"Because the Magic Council has a bounty on your head." Mirajane said. She frowned deeply. "We thought that if we hand you over to the council, we can finally be the number one guild in Earthland again…"

"Is that so?" Darren said.

"Yeah." Gray said, lowering his head. "It's been seven years since we disappeared after an unexpected chain of events. During our disappearance, we lost many of our fellow guild members but a few had stayed and waited for our return and eventually we did. Since then, we wanted to make up the time we have lost by trying very hard to get the number one spot again."

"I see." Darren said, nodding his head.

"Okay! Dinner is served!" Takuto yelled as he enters the dining area. He places a tray on the table, containing an egg omelette, fried chicken wings, fried vegetables and four bowls of rice. "And don't worry, there's more food coming to serve everybody here!"

"Wow!" Mirajane said, clapping her hands. "I didn't know you can cook Takuto!"

"I'm not just a doctor." Takuto said, winking an eye. "Wako taught me how to cook too."

"So you do the cooking while your wife just sits back and relax lazily?" CC asked, smirking as she folds her arms.

"My wife isn't lazy!" Takuto yelled at her. "I think…"

Darren chuckled. Takuto turns to him and asked in a serious tone, "As for you Demon Prince, I have a question."

"Huh?" Darren widens his eyes. "Um sure…" He now feels nervous, thinking Takuto may have a grudge on him.

"Demon Prince…" Takuto said, narrowing his eyes. But suddenly, he perks up and yelled happily, "May I study your human biology later?"

"Huh?" Darren widens his eyes in surprise.

"I mean, you have demonic powers and blood inside you and yet you still have a human body and keep a nice complexion! How do you do it?!" Takuto grasps Darren's hands and clasp them together. "Think of what discoveries I can make when I study more of your body and biology!"

"He is one strange companion you guys make." Jellal whispered to Mirajane.

"You haven't seen half of his weirdness." Mirajane smiled.

"Um yeah, you can take a look at me later, Takuto." Darren said as he gently removes his hands from Takuto's grip before turning to Mirajane and Jellal. "Right now, may I ask, where's Judith and Natsu?"

"They're probably at the palace." Jellal said to him. "You should really see her Darren. She's been thinking a lot about you."

Darren softens his eyes. "Right."

* * *

><p>Judith and Natsu are are the palace garden. The pond is no longer filled with water and all the plants and flowers in the garden have since withered or disappeared.<p>

Judith is sitting at the pond while Natsu stands in front of her.

"And that was how I became Darren's master." Judith said as she finished explaining to Natsu how she first met Darren and made a pact with him.

"I'm surprised that the Demon Prince can have someone controlling him." Natsu said to her. "How long have you two been together?"

"About a week now." Judith smiled as she lowers her head. "But during that short period of time, both of us had already become close to each other."

Natsu let out a sigh and smile. "Wow. That sure is nice." He said.

"Judith?" Judith and Natsu both see Darren entering the garden, looking ashamed.

"Darren…" Judith said sadly.

"I guess I'll leave you two together." Natsu said but Darren gestures him to stop.

"No. It's okay." Darren said as he walks over to them. "You have the right to listen too, because I owe you an apology as well."

Natsu nods his head. Darren now turns to Judith and sighed, "Judith…I'm so sorry."

"Why did you do it?" Judith asked.

"I just lost control. I thought the moment my identity is revealed, I've lost all of my hopes and dignity. I've lost myself." Darren said sorrowfully.

"Darren, haven't you forgotten? I'm your master…" Judith said. Darren watched as the krityan gently takes his hand. "If you have anything, any problems you have, you could've express them to me. No matter what happens, I'll always be at your side."

Darren let out a gasp, then smiles as his eyes turn watery. He wipes his eyes and chuckled. "I…I'm really glad that such a person like you would exist, Judith."

Judith smiled. She stood up and gave Darren an embrace. "I hope this hug will make you feel better." She whispered.

"Yeah…" Darren sighed happily and hugs him back.

"Ahem. I'm still here you know?" Natsu chuckled. Darren and Judith both pull away from each other and turn to Natsu.

"Yeah. Sorry." Darren said. "Sorry that we had to fight…"

"Natsu Dragneel." Natsu smirked as he places his right hand on his hip. "That's my name."

"Nice to meet you." Darren said, extending a hand.

"Yeah, you too." Natsu said as he takes his hand and shakes it. "Darren, don't mind but may I talk to you privately?"

"Um…sure." Darren said. He turns to Judith who smiles and nods her head to him. Judith then walks away and leaves the garden. When the krtiyan is out of sight, Darren turns back to Natsu and notices a frown on his face.

"What's wrong, Natsu?" Darren asked.

"Well…" Natsu said as he folds his arms. "I see you two really love each other."

"Yeah, we do." Darren replied.

Natsu sighed. "I'm in love with two girls. One is my girlfriend who I'm currently dating, Lisanna. She was my childhood friend who proposed me to marry her when we become adults. But there's another girl I'm in love with, Lucy. She came into the guild a few years after my guild and I thought Lisanna was dead. She was a beautiful girl whom I quickly became friends with when she arrived. We went through many missions and adventures together. But then one day, Lisanna DID came back…and now, I have to keep my promise to her all over again." He turns his head away and clutches his head in frustration. "I don't know what to do! I love Lisanna but I'm in love with Lucy too!"

Darren sighed and replied, "Yes Natsu, it's never easy to decide which girl you want to go with."

"Huh?" Natsu said as he calms down and turns back to Darren.

"But in the end, it's your own decision. You can either go with Lisanna or Lucy. And it's best that you resolve this right now before it's too late. I shall leave you alone." Darren said. With that, he turns around and leaves the garden.

Natsu lowers his head. Darren is right. It's his own decision to decide whom he should go with. Should he go with Lisanna, his lifelong childhood friend? Or Lucy, the girl whom he constantly protects and thinks of?

But after thirty seconds, Natsu closes his eyes.

He has made his decision.

* * *

><p>Darren walks down the palace hallways and examines the damages of the palace. He knows that many soldiers and mages, including his friends have died here and it still haunts him til today, especially when he's now walking through their resting place.<p>

"Darren Leong?"

Darren stops at his tracks and turns around. It was Juvia.

"Juvia?" Darren said. "I'm sorry for what I did to you back at Alahorn."

"It's okay. But that doesn't matter to Juvia right now. Darren, Juvia wants you to be honest with her." Juvia said, looking serious.

"Okay." Darren nods his head. "I will."

"Did you really kill Juvia's family?" Juvia asked him.

"Don't know. When did your family died, Juvia?" Darren asked.

"At around 7 in the evening. The same time around the destruction of Kalafina began." Juvia replied to him.

Darren rubs his chin. "7 in the evening, I was still in the palace. I only leave the palace in my demonic form when it was 8.01 PM."

"What?" Juvia widens her eyes.

Darren looks up at her. "Juvia, your family isn't killed by me. They were killed by the king, who also became a demon…and I was forced to kill him."

There was an awkward silence between the two for a moment, until tears flow down Juvia's cheeks. Juvia lowers her head sadly. "Then all along, Juvia's been holding a grudge on you for nothing. And the real person who killed Juvia's family has already been dealt with." She fell to her knees and sobbed.

Darren walks over to her and kneels down to her. "I'm sorry for your loss. They must have been very nice people to you."

"Yes…" Juvia nodded. "Especially nii-sama…" She then looks up at Darren with tearstained eyes. "Now that the truth has been revealed, Juvia can finally move on and allow her family to rest in peace."

Darren smiled at her. "Can I give your family a proper service for you?" Juvia nods her head.

Unbeknownst to Darren and Juvia, Lucy was standing behind them, watching the whole thing. She smiled happily at the sight of it.

"The Demon Prince…isn't that bad after all." She said softly to herself.

"Lucy?"

Lucy gasped and turns around to see Natsu. "Natsu?" She said. Immediately, something amazing happened.

Natsu leans over and kisses Lucy in her lips. After a while, Natsu breaks away from the kiss and Lucy was blushing crimson all over her face.

"Natsu-san? Why?" Lucy asked.

Natsu smiled warmly at her. "I'm choosing you over Lisanna because…you are the one whom I always think of."

Lucy's eyes turn watery. She managed to crack a smile before she and Natsu warmly embrace and gave each other another kiss.

'_Thank you, Darren.'_ Natsu thought.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, Darren, Judith, Juvia, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Mirajane, Erza, Carl, Yuri, CC, Wendy, Jellal, Lihua, Happy, Charle and Takuto gathered around the city square to perform a funeral service for Juvia's family. Darren is reading a Bible while the others except Juvia were holding joss sticks.<p>

"May Juvia's family forever rest in peace. They will always be a loving family, in life and death." Darren finished saying and closes his Bible.

Juvia looks skyward as she holds onto her locket tightly while the others close their eyes and remain silent while holding their joss sticks. Happy was sobbing and crying his eyes out.

"Nii-sama, mom, dad…rest in peace." Juvia said as a tear rolls down her cheek. After a minute has passed, everybody open their eyes and goes over to a pot of ashes and place their sticks into it. Everybody then watched as Darren and Natsu both walk over to a cage with piles of joss paper stacked inside it. Darren turns to Natsu and nods his head. Natsu then snaps his fingers and set the piles of paper on fire. Everybody watched as the paper burn into ashes. Lucy turns to Juvia and wraps an arm around her to comfort her. Juvia turns to Lucy and smile.

"Juvia…" Gray said. "I hope you have finally found inner peace."

Juvia turns to Gray and smiled, "Yes Gray-sama. Juvia has."

Erza smiled before turning to Carl. She noticed a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Erza asked. Carl turns to her. "Aren't you happy that Juvia has finally found peace?"

"Yes I am, Miss Scarlet." Carl said. "It's just that…Estelle isn't here."

"Yeah true." Jellal said and carl and Erza both turn their heads to him. "I wonder where she is now."

Carl sighed sadly. "Estelle…"

Unbeknownst to everyone, Estelle was watching the whole thing from the palace. She narrows her eyes angrily and walks away.

"I…I don't believe this…" Estelle said angrily. "Why is everybody so forgiving?! Why do they easily forgive the Demon Prince?!" She stops at her tracks, and then slams her hands on the wall and let out a yell. "WHY?!"

She then falls to her knees and sobbed uncontrollably. A few minutes later, she wipes off her tears. "Mom, dad, grandpa…I promise…I will kill the Demon Prince and avenge your deaths."

"Perhaps I can help you."

Estelle gasped and looks up. In front of her…was Relius. Relius smirks evilly as he extends a hand.

"Do you wish to avenge your family, Princess Estellise?"

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: And that's the end of the chapter. Will Estelle give in to Relius? Stay tune and read and review!**


	27. Consequences

**Sovereign: What's this? A new chapter so soon? Yup, that's right! XD I would like to thank splitheart1120, GoldenRoseTanya, zeprincelini and Lightmoon54 for reviewing the last chapter! ^_^**

_**Chapter 26: Consequences**_

"Estelle! Estelle! Can you hear me?"

Carl shouted as he walked through the quiet hallways of the palace. Erza is following him from behind.

"Estelle!" Carl shouted again. However, he still didn't get a response and only the echoes of his yell are heard throughout the hallways. Carl frowned worriedly as he stops walking and ceased his shouting.

"You and Estelle must have a strong bond with each other." Erza said to him.

"Yes." Carl said sadly. "We do. When I was three, I was put on a merchant wagon by my sister and safely escape from the destruction of Kalafina. I never saw my sister again after that. A month of travelling later, I eventually met Estelle and her bodyguard Cecile at Frankston. We three stayed together in the village and there, I learnt about the Templars and how they saved the village a month before the destruction. Sadly, a year later, Cecile died from an illness, leaving me and Estelle alone. Since then, Estelle assigned me to be her new bodyguard and I vowed to her that I will become stronger just like the Templars and will protect her till the end." He paused and chuckled as he grabs his right arm. "And it's no surprise as we grew up, we became more than just a princess and a bodyguard, we were like _siblings_."

"Carl…" Erza uttered. Carl then turns around and gave Erza a hug.

"I hope Estelle is alright…" Carl said to her with a sad frown on his face. As Carl laid his head on Erza's chest armor, Erza smiled and gave him a warm embrace. "Ever since she found out Darren is the Demon Prince, she isn't acting the way she's supposed to be. And I'm scared…"

"It's okay Carl." Erza whispered to him as he strokes his hair. "We'll find her…"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Relius and Estelle both entered the throne room. The room where once the royal family sat is now covered with dust and cobwebs over the years.<p>

"Here we are, Lady Estellise." Relius smirked evilly as they walk their way over to the thrones. "This is where I will reveal my idea on how we can defeat the Demon Prince."

"First, tell me how do you know I'm Princess Estellise Sidos Heurassein of the Kingdom of Temza." Estelle asked Relius demandingly as she narrows her eyes.

"Oh please Estellise, everybody who lives and works in the palace knows who you are." Relius replied.

"What?" Estelle widens her eyes.

Smirking evilly, Relius then extends out his hand. "Req Vinum!" He shouted as he closes his hand into a fist.

Estelle gasped as she looks downwards. A field appears below her feet and she screamed as suddenly a bubble field is created around her, trapping Estelle inside.

"What is meaning of this!" Estelle yelled angrily at Relius as she pounds her fists onto the bubble field. Relius then laughed evilly as he turns around, facing Estelle.

"Oh Estelle, you are so gullible." Relius removes his mask, revealing his entire face and his left eye wound which is now covered with an eye-patch. Estelle gasped and drops her jaw in horror as she now recognizes him.

"Alfred?" Estelle said.

"Sadly, the real Alfred died before coming to work here. I killed him and took over his position, allowing me to infiltrate your palace." Relius explained as he puts his mask back on. He then frowned. "My real name…is Relius! Alchemist and servant of King Lowell of Alahorn!"

Estelle grits her teeth and narrows her eyes angrily. "LET ME OUT THIS INSTANCE!" She yelled.

"Or what? Will your family come and save you?" Relius smirked, mocking the princess.

Estelle gasped and widens her eyes. _'He's right…nobody can save me…'_ She thought to herself.

Relius snaps his fingers and the bubble field electrocutes Estelle from inside. Estelle let out a painful and agonizing scream that can be heard from outside the throne room.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

><p>Carl and Erza gasped and they both pull away from their embrace upon hearing the scream.<p>

"It's Estelle!" Carl cried in horror. "She's in trouble!" He quickly ran off and follow the direction of the scream.

"Carl! Wait!" Erza shouted as she extends out her hand. But Carl ignored her and kept on running. He has to save Estelle before it's too late!

"Hang on Estelle!" Carl yelled, not stopping for one second. "I'm coming for you! JUST HANG ON!"

* * *

><p>"AAA! AAA! AAAAA! AAAAAHHHH!"<p>

Estelle wailed as the pain inside her body from the electrocuted becomes more intensely stronger. Relius only laughed in delight as he watched this display.

"Don't resist the pain, Estellise. _Feel_ it. The more pain you are having, it shows how much magic you have in your body and more worthy you are in becoming my newest candidate in my experiments!" Relius shouted.

"Estelle!'

"Huh?" Relius said as he tilts his head to see who's at the doorway of the room. Estelle slightly turns her head to see the newest visitor as well.

"Carl?" She managed to say out.

Carl just stood there, with his eyes bulged and his mouth agape in horror. Not just because he's watching what Estelle is going through right now, but also knows who the man in the golden mask is.

"_Father_…" He managed to utter.

"_Son_…" Relius said to Carl.

Estelle gasped as she turns back to Relius. "Father?" She now turns to Carl. "Son?"

"Yes." Relius adjusts his mask. "My full name is Relius Clover."

"Father! You're still alive!" Carl cried as he runs into the room.

"It's good to see you again…Carl Clover…" Relius said, softening a bit. Carl then stops at the middle of the throne room and turns his head to see Estelle trapped in the bubble field, still trying to resist the electrocution.

"What are you doing, father?" Carl asked Relius. "Why are you torturing Estelle?"

Relius's evil smirk appears on his face again. "You're just in time, my son. To watched if Princess Estellise will be perfect enough to be the next candidate in becoming my personal creation." He replied.

"What do you mean?!" Carl asked his father with a yell.

"You see son, my experiment with the templar Darren Leong was a failure. He was supposed to become my creation but he managed to overcome the dark magic DNA inside him. However, the case with Estellise's grandfather King Lucas was a success. But unfortunately, Darren went to exterminate him while he destroys Kalafina with his new demonic form." Relius explained.

'_So Temza wasn't destroyed by Darren…it was grandpa who did it…'_ Estelle thought to herself. She closes her eyes, letting a tear rolls freely down her cheek. _'I was such a fool…a very daft fool…'_

"Darren…" Carl lowers his head. "He was innocent all along…"

"But no matter, I can always start all over." Relius said as he turns back to Estelle who is still squealing in pain as she gets electrocuted. "Right now, Estelle is showing an impressive display of pain and agony. It really shows how much magic she has inside of her body. If her magic levels is up to my expectations, then she is worthy in becoming my personal creation and I can finally start all over."

Carl turns to Estelle with wide eyes of horror. "Estelle will become like the Demon Prince?" He murmured to himself.

"Forget me Carl…" Estelle managed to say out before closing her eyes sadly. "I deserved this…I was such a fool…"

"NO!" Carl yelled. This surprises Estelle and Relius. Carl then turns to his father, trying to fight back his tears. His face is distorted with a mix of fear for Estelle's life and utter hate for himself. He knows he's about to do the insane and he hates himself for doing it. But he doesn't…Estelle will die. He now falls to his knees and lowers his head.

"Please…take me instead…" He said flatly, looking down at the floor. Tears from Carl's eyes now splashed onto the floor.

"WHAT?!" Estelle screamed in horror. "NO CARL! DON'T DO IT!"

"Do you really want to sacrifice yourself to save Estellise's life?" Relius asked. Carl nods his head.

"Yes." He simply said.

"I'm proud of you, son. You sure have guts, just what I wanted to see in my offspring." Relius smirked. He extends out his hand, making the bubble field around Estelle disappears and the princess groans as she falls to the floor on her back with a thud. Her dress is scorched and her body is covered with bruises.

Relius now extends his hand at his son. "Req Vinum!"

"NO!" Estelle cried as she lifts her head up. But it was too late as a bubble field appears around Carl and the boy screamed in pain as he gets electrocuted in the inside.

"AAAAHHHH! AAAAAAAAHHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Relius smiled in delight. "Amazing…who would have thought my son would have as much magic and power as the princess? You are worthy my son. You have make me very proud." Relius now uses his other hand to magically create a portal behind him. "Come my son, we have much to do."

"Wh-where are you going?" Estelle asked, trembling in fear. "Come back!"

"Estelle…" Carl whimpered as he tilts his head to her, cracking a small smile. "Remember that vow I made to you that I will protect you til the end?"

Estelle widens her eyes, remembering that day.

"I kept it…til the end." Carl closes his eyes, allowing his tears to roll down his cheeks freely.

"No…NO! It can't end like this!" Estelle reaches out her hand to Carl. "COME BACK!" Relius ignored her as he slowly enters the portal while dragging along the bubble field with Carl inside it. "Please! Don't do this to him! He's only thirteen! Please don't take him away from me! Come back, please! I BEG YOU! COME BACK! COME BAAAAACCCCKKKK!" She shrieked as she helplessly watched Relius and Carl disappearing from her sight.

As Relius and Carl enters the portal, it disappeared. Estelle immediately burst into tears as she drops her hand and lay back down on the floor.

Carl was gone.

She has failed.

* * *

><p>"Estelle!" Darren yelled as he, Judith, CC, Jellal, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Mirajane, Juvia, Yuri, Takuto, Lihua, Happy and Charle rush into the throne room. They all look around until Erza spotted Estelle lying on the floor.<p>

"There she is!" She cried and everybody immediately run over to her side.

"Estelle? Are you alright?" Lucy asked in concern as she and Juvia grab her arms and help carry her up.

"What happened?" Darren asked softly as he sees the blank expression on Estelle's face.

"Where's Carl? Have you seen him?" Erza asked.

As soon as Estelle finds herself staring at Darren, her face distorts into a frown as her eyes are pooled with tears again.

"Estelle?" Darren murmured. What follows was a loud and agonizing scream of sadness and guilt from Estelle.

"IT'S ALL MY FAAAAAAUUUUUULLLLLLLTTTTTT!

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: No comment. Stay tune and read and review...**


	28. The Shocking Truth

**Sovereign: I would like to thank GoldenRoseTanya, Lightmoon54, splitheart1120, Nadeshiko Redfox and Assault Godzilla for reviewing! Now, get ready for an action-packed chapter...**

_**Chapter 27: The Shocking Truth**_

Everybody is now in the palace garden. Estelle is sitting at the pond, crying her eyes out for the loss of her friend. She is sitting between Wendy, Lihua, Juvia and Mirajane who are all trying to comfort her.

"Estelle, please stop crying…" Wendy said sadly.

"Yes Estelle, don't worry. We'll find him." Mirajane said to her while rubbing Estelle's back.

Nearby the fountain, Jellal is holding a lacrima ball, talking to Ultear and Meredy. Darren, CC, Judith, Yuri, Takuto, Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Happy and Charle are all gathering around him.

"Ultear, Meredy, are you getting a lock-on on Relius's coordinates?" Jellal asked the two.

"Hang on, master Jellal." Meredy, who is holding the lacrima ball, replied to Jellal.

"But I am getting them now." Ultear, who is standing behind Meredy, added as she watches her orb. "I got them. He is located in a mansion approximately 10.4 kilometers northwest from your current location.

"10.4 kilometers from Kalafina?" Darren said. "That would be the village of Finsley."

"Thanks for your help Ultear." Jellal said, nodding his head. "I appreciate it."

"You're welcome, master." Ultear said to him before Jellal and Meredy turn off their lacrima balls.

Jellal puts away his lacrima ball and turns to the others. "Let's head there right away before Relius does anything to Carl." Jellal said.

Gray pounds his fists together angrily. "Let's show that bastard alchemist a few tricks up our sleeves." He said.

Darren and CC turn to each other. Everybody watch as Darren removes his bandages around his body, revealing his wounds. "You ready CC?" Darren asked.

"Yes." CC nods her head. Everybody watch in awe as CC places her hands on Darren's wounds. She turns back into blood and goes back into Darren's body and his wounds immediately disappear.

Darren turns to the others. "Let's go save Carl." He said.

"It's all my fault…" Estelle sobbed. Darren turns to the princess. "Carl is going to become an experiment all because of me."

Darren glared at Estelle and walks over to her. Wendy, Lihua, Juvia and Mirajane watched in shock as Darren lifts Estelle's chin up and slaps her across her cheek.

"Ack!" Estelle yelped as her cheek is stung.

"Get a hold of yourself Estelle! Do you want to save your friend or sit here and helplessly wait for the worse?" Darren scolded her.

Estelle sniffed and wipes her tears away before standing up and looks up at Darren with a frown. "Right, I'm sorry. I wish to save Carl!" She said.

"Good." Darren nods his head.

"Darren." Judith called. Darren turns to the krityan and Judith hands him a new black jacket and white singlet she has sew for him.

Darren smiles as he takes the clothing. "Thank you Judith." He puts on the clothes and takes out his cross necklace from his pocket. Judith smiles as he puts it on. "I promise I won't break it again."

Judith places her hands on his shoulders and nods her head, "I'm sure you won't this time."

Darren turns to everybody else with a serious frown, "Let's move out."

"But Finsley is over 10 kilometres away from our location. How can we get there in time?" Wendy asked.

Darren turns to the sky dragon slayer and smirked, "Don't worry; I know how we can get there in time."

* * *

><p>Carl let out a soft moan as he slowly regains consciousness. He slowly opens his eyes and his vision was groggy. He blinks his eyes a few times and his vision now becomes clear. When he regains his sight, he turns his head around and discovers that he is trapped inside a glass container cell. So that is why he is feeling warm and sweat are rolling down the sides of his head. Outside of the glass cell, he sees that he is in some sort of laboratory room. The walls of the room were made of bricks and there are many contraptions and machines. Carl tries to move his body, wondering what he is tied to. He tries turning his wrists, but he felt that they are chained. He looks up and sees that his wrists are tied with a pair of chains that are connected to the ceiling. He then looks down and sees that his ankles are cuffed with another chain.<p>

Carl closes his eyes as they become teary. Why? Why is his own father doing this to him? What kind of father would do this to his own child? He was relieved to be reunited with his father, but never thought he would turn out to be an insane psychopathic alchemist who would do experiments on his own son.

Then, he hears the door of the room opens. Carl looks up and sees his father entering the room and walking over to him.

"Father…" He moaned.

"You are awake, son." Relius sneered. "I'm still impressed by your sacrifice to save Princess Estellise."

"Father…" Carl narrows his eyes at him. "Why are you doing this? And where is mom and Ada?"

"Ah yes, Ignis and Ada Clover." Relius said as he rubs his chin. "Sadly, both of them are no longer living."

"Don't lie to me father!" Carl shouted angrily.

"Oh but I'm sorry son. I'm not lying." Relius adjusts his mask before explaining what happened. "You see, a day before the destruction of Kalafina, your mother Ignis found out that I killed Alfred and took up his identity. She knew that all along, I was a spy working for Alahorn and that I was going to infiltrate the a palace and kill the royal family, so I had no choice but to kill her."

"How could you father?" Carl said as his face is now distorted with anger. "She was your wife!"

"So what?" Relius shrugs. "Wives are just used to create children."

"You really are a sick father…" Carl uttered.

"That's not all I want to say. Ada in turn watched me kill your mother and I knew she quickly ran to your room and help you escape the city. I knew that I still have a mission to do so I decided to let her off and continue on with my mission to infiltrate the palace. What is so surprising to me is that after the destruction of Kalafina, she actually came back to me. She wanted to fight me one-on-one to avenge Ignis's death in the name of the Clover family." Relius then let out a laugh and slaps his forehead. Carl simply narrows his eyes and grits his teeth in rage due to his utter hate and anger towards his father right now. "But of course, I was the more superior fighter in the end and Ada too met her end. But before she died, her final words she delivered to me were…'Carl will make you pay'." A smirk appears on his face. "Like that's going to happen now that I have you bound, Carl Clover."

Carl hangs his head in both anger and sadness. Anger is due to the fact that his father is responsible for the deaths of his mother and sister and sadness is due to the fact that they can never be a family again. A tear freely rolls down his cheek.

Relius frowned as he places his hand on the glass cell. "What's wrong son? You shouldn't be showing signs of weakness. My creation mustn't be weak."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, a Temzan armored vehicle is driving down the road and heading its way to Relius's location. Erza is in the driver's seat and controlling the steering wheel. Darren is sitting at the passenger seats while the others are sitting in the back of the vehicle. Natsu is sitting at the very back of the vehicle, occasionally vomiting into a metal bucket.<p>

"Please get better Natsu. We need you to rescue Carl!" Happy said as he pats Natsu on the back.

"Well, we're screwed." Gray said, folding his arms and rolling his eyes.

"Does he always do that when he rides on a vehicle?" Darren asked Erza.

"He sure does." Erza chuckled. "By the way, this is an interesting vehicle the Temzan military has."

"Yeah." Darren said to Erza as he folds his arms. "This is the Buffalo vehicle. It's the army's standard troop carrier truck. It's built with strong magic-resistant metal armor and can be driven on any terrain. Fortunately, there are still a few undamaged ones hidden beneath the palace."

"Magic-resistant metal armor huh?" Erza smirked as she turns her head to Darren. "I think my guild could really use one of these vehicles."

Yuri turns to Estelle who is sitting next to him. Estelle has her fists placed on her thighs and has a sad frown on her face. "Estelle, don't worry. We'll save him." Yuri assured as he places his hand on her shoulder.

"I hope we can reach him in time." Estelle murmured.

"Carl must be very close to you." Yuri said.

"Yes." Estelle nods her head. "He's not just my bodyguard; he was like a family to me. I don't have any siblings all my life. I was the only child. Carl let me experienced how it's like being a big sister and having someone around your age by your side."

"Yeah, I never had any siblings too." Yuri said, turning his head away. "So my parents really put in a lot of stress and pressure upon me since I'm the only one who's going to succeed my father's throne. I never get to experience much of my childhood. Most of my life, I was taught and trained to be a politician and a soldier."

Yuri then widens his eyes in surprise when he felt Estelle resting her head on his shoulder. He turns to her as Estelle pulls a strand of hair away from her eyes.

"I guess both of us have something in common. I'm so sorry for the way I acted back at the palace." Estelle said.

Yuri smirked at her. "It's alright Estelle, no offence taken. And don't worry, like I said, we will save Carl."

"He's right Estelle." Lucy, who is sitting on the other side, spoke up. "We will save him together. We will not let Relius take the life of a friend of ours, for we are Fairy Tail."

Estelle smiled at her. "Thanks." She said.

"It's good to see you smiling again!" Wendy said happily.

* * *

><p>Darren and his companions now walk through the village of Finsley. Finsley was a small fishing village but an important port to the Kingdom of Temza. It is the northernmost settlement in the kingdom. The entire village is deserted and the houses have boarded up and became run down over the years.<p>

"It's so sad that a place that used to be lively has become abandoned." Juvia said sadly as she clasps her hands together.

"This place must have been evacuated after the destruction of Kalafina." Darren said in sorrow.

"I still couldn't believe it was my grandfather who destroyed my kingdom…" Estelle said, lowering her head in sadness.

"Estelle, don't blame your grandfather. Relius and Cornelia were the ones who turn him into a monster. They're the causes, not your grandfather." Natsu said to her.

"Yes." Estelle lifts her head up and frowned. "You're right. When we're done with them, I'll do whatever it takes to restore this kingdom to its former glory."

"Anyways, why would Relius hide in a fishing village?" Charle asked.

"Because this isn't just a fishing village." Darren narrows his eyes. "It's also the home to Dr. Spinoza, a famous Temzan scientist. He owns a mansion near this village. Seeing that Relius is an alchemist, it's obvious he's hiding there."

* * *

><p>Darren and his companions arrived at the said mansion. It was large wooden house that had two floors and is located at the top of a slope. Also outside the mansion was a large garden filled with withered flowers and grass.<p>

"Whoa! It's huge!" Lucy said, widening her eyes at the sight of the huge mansion.

"Right. But we are not here to be amazed by its architecture; we're here to rescue Carl." Erza said to her.

"Hang on Carl," Darren said as he sheathes out his katana. "We're coming for you." Everybody else nods their heads as Natsu, Gray, Juvia, Jellal and Wendy curl their hands into fists, Mirajane transforms into her Satan Soul: Halphas form, Erza gets dressed into her Heaven's Wheel Armor, and Lucy, Judith, Estelle, Yuri and Takuto draw out their weapons.

"Happy, Charle, you two stay here." Natsu said to the exceeds.

"But what can we do while you guys are inside?" Happy asked.

"You two can take care of Lihua." Lucy replied. Happy and Charle turn to Lihua, whom Darren is currently talking to. He kneels down to her level and pats her head.

"Stay here while we're gone." Darren said to Lihua softly. Lihua nods her head.

"Let's go!" Erza yelled. Everybody then head towards the entrance of the mansion while Happy, Charle and Lihua stayed behind and watched.

"Good luck you guys…" Charle said.

* * *

><p>Erza kicks open the doors and everybody walk into the mansion cautiously. The foyer of the mansion was dark and quiet.<p>

"Natsu, give us some light." Lucy said to the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"Right." Natsu said before lighting his fist in flames.

"Stay close together at all times." Erza said to everyone as they slowly walk through the mansion.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to them, as they enter the mansion, Relius is watching them through a lacrima-vision. The masked alchemist laughed as he watched. "Your friends never ceased to amaze me, Carl Clover." He said before deactivating the lacrima-vision.<p>

"Just you wait father, they will find you and make you pay." Carl said, giving him a glare.

Relius turns to his son and a rectangular control panel magically appears in front of him. "First, they must prove themselves worthy to face me." He said before pressing a button.

* * *

><p>Everybody gasped and stopped when they heard Relius's voice which is being said throughout the mansion hallways.<p>

"Hello there, wizards of Fairy Tail and allies of Carl Clover. I never thought I would have guests coming into my mansion without any invitation." Relius said.

"RELIUS! Where's Carl Clover?!" Darren shouted angrily.

"Oh don't worry, Darren Leong. Carl is safe for now. But if you guys wish to save him, you must prepare yourselves for what awaits you first!"

With that, Relius signs off. Suddenly, all the doors at both sides of the hallways open. Everybody quickly got together in a circle and get into their fighting stances.

"Get ready, everyone!" Erza yelled, holding her swords in front of her.

Then, several grey-skinned human beings walk out of the rooms and they all let out moans as they stagger towards the heroes. Everybody widen their eyes and gape their mouths open in horror. They examine their enemies. They have grey skins and their eyes are completely blue without any pupils. Their mouths are always hanging open and their ribcages and vertebrae are exposed. They were called by Relius as husks.

"What…are they?" Jellal managed to say out.

"I can't believe he did this…" Yuri said.

"What do you mean?" Darren asked the prince of Alahorn.

"Back at the capital, I discovered wooden crates with corpses inside them. When I got captured, Relius revealed to me that he and Cornelia were absorbing their lives away from their bodies and making my father an immortal."

"So all these beings…are people whom Relius and Cornelia absorbed their lives from?!" Lucy said in complete terror.

"Not to mention, back at the palace, he was trying to turn me into his personal creation, just like Darren…" Estelle added as her body starts to feel cold in horror.

"So not only these people have their lives taken away, but were also failed experiments to Relius and Cornelia?!" Judith cried.

Everybody back away as the husks stagger closer to them.

"What do we do?! Should we attack them?" Mirajane asked.

"But these are innocent human beings right?!" Wendy replied. "They aren't working for the Alahornian army so they are just civilians!"

Suddenly, Darren yelled angrily as he charged towards the husks. He sliced off four husks in half with one swing of his katana.

"Darren!" Judith cried in horror as Darren breathed heavily.

"Guys! It doesn't matter if they were innocent or not…because they are already dead!" Darren said before he runs off and continues fighting the husks.

Juvia turns her head and gasped in horror as a husk goes near her and tries to grab her but Erza quickly goes over to him and slashes him with one of her swords.

"He's right…" Erza said as the husk slumps to the ground. "These people are no longer alive! EVERYONE! ATTACK!"

Gray and Takuto yell as they charge towards the husks.

"Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur!" Gray shouted as he uses his ice magic to create a huge broadsword. He then swings his broadsword, killing off six husks in one swing. Takuto jumps into the air and yells as he lands in front of two husks and slashes both of them down with both of his swords.

Lucy let out a cry as she swings her Fleuve d'etoiles whip at two husks, taking them down in one swing. She turns around and swings her whip at another husk. She ties the husk up with her whip and then twirls around, swinging him to the wall, crashing him.

Natsu let out a ferocious yell as he punches a husk with his flaming fist, sending him stumbling through the floor.

"Relius…" Natsu growled angrily. "YOU WILL PAY FOR YOU DID TO THESE PEOPLE!" He turns around and punches another husk in the face. Another husk stagger over to him on the right but Natsu quickly turns to him, grabs him by his neck and tosses him into the air. He then turns his head and punches another husk in the gut, then lifts his leg up and kicks him in the chest, sending him sprawling through the floor.

Several more husks approach Natsu. Natsu, using all of his rage and anger, delivers a powerful dragon roar attack at the husks.

"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" Natsu yelled as he blew huge amount of flames at the husks, burning them into ashes.

Jellal points his finger at a group of husks and shoots a ray of dark magic at them, evaporating them into ashes.

Wendy stood behind him and jumps into the air.

"Sky Dragon's Claw!" She yelled as she swings her leg down and generates a huge amount of wind, sending several husks flying into the air.

"Great work, Wendy." Jellal said as he turns to the Sky Dragon Slayer with a smirk.

Wendy lands safely on the floor and turns to Jellal. "It's good to be fighting alongside with you again Jellal." She smiled.

Juvia extends out her hand and creates a water lock at six husks, trapping all of them in one giant water bubble.

"GRAY!" Juvia shouted.

"Right!" Gray replied as he uses his ice magic to freeze the bubble. He then clutches his hand into a fist, crashing it into pieces.

Yuri and Estelle stood next to each other as they take down countless husks with their swords.

"I never thought I would be fighting alongside with a Temzan." Yuri said as he swings his sword vertically at a husk, slicing him in half.

"So do I, vice-versa." Estelle replied as she knocks a husk back with her shield before stabbing him in the chest with her sword.

Yuri charges towards four husks. "DRAGON SWARM!" He shouted as he jumps into the air and let loose a series of horizontal strikes at the husks while in midair. When he lands on the ground, the husks collapse behind.

Darren and Judith stood close to each other as more husks approach them.

"Judith!" Darren said as he readies his katana.

"Right!" Judith replied as she holds her spear tightly. The two charge towards the husks.

"Moonlight Havoc!" Judith yelled as she swings her spear vertically at a husk. She jumps in the air and does a spinning kick at her face.

Darren yells as he swings his katana horizontally at a husk. He sees a husk behind him and quickly turns around and slashes his stomach in another horizontal swing of his katana. He now jumps in the air and does a critical overhead strike at another husk and slicing her body in half.

Judith now tosses a spear at a husk and stabs him in the chest. She runs over to the husk, jumps over him as she grabs the hilt of her spear and as she lands behind him, swings the husk over her and smashes him to the floor. She removes her spear and swings her spear horizontally at another husk.

Mirajane takes down a husk by swinging her claws at his chest. Nearby, Darren tackles a husk down to the ground and stabs his katana at his face. The two turn their heads and see more husks coming out from a room. Mirajane turns to Darren and said to him, "Shall we work together Darren?"

"Lets." Darren replied to her as he removes his katana. Mirajane extends a hand and Darren grabs it. She pulls him up as Darren transforms his left arm into his demonic arm. Mirajane uses both of her hands to create a huge sphere of dark magic.

"EVIL EXPLOSION!" Mirajane yelled as she launches the sphere over to the husks.

"**DEMONIC BLAST!"** Darren yelled as he fires a huge blast of demonic magic. With the powerful combination of both Mirajane and Darren's attacks, it sends the huge group of husks flying and getting vaporized into dust.

Natsu jumps in the air and does a spinning kick at a husk while Lucy swings her whip and let loose a series of attacks, slashing down several husks.

"You're getting stronger Lucy." Natsu said to her as he grabs a husk by his head and lifts him up.

"Thanks Natsu." Lucy smiled as she pants heavily. Natsu then turns to the husk and punches him in the face, sending him stumbling through the ground.

Erza swings her swords horizontally at a husk while takuto swings his Star Sword Emeraude vertically at another. Takuto looks up and sees that he has an opening to the stairs leading to the second floor of the mansion.

"Takuto! We'll hold them off! Find carl Clover!" Erza said to Takuto.

"Got it!" Takuto nods his head before running off to the stairs. _'Hang on Carl! We're coming for ya!'_

* * *

><p>Takuto kicks the door open and enters Relius's lab. Immediately, Takuto sees Carl being chained in his glass cell.<p>

"Carl!" He yelled at him. Carl looks up and gasped.

"Takuto!" He cried.

"Ah, you must be Takuto Tsunashi." Relius spoke up. Taktuo gasped and turns around to see Relius standing behind him.

Takuto grits his teeth and draws out his Star Swords at him. "Release Carl now or I will slice you into pieces!" He yelled at the masked alchemist.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Relius smirked evilly. He lifts up his right hand and snaps his fingers. A curtain then falls off, revealing another glass cell next to Carl's.

Takuto turns around and upon seeing the glass cell, widens his eyes and gape his mouth open much to his horror.

Inside the glass cell was Wako Agemaki. Her wrists were also tied to a pair of chains connected to the ceiling and her ankles are cuffed too. Wako lifts her head up and gasped upon seeing her husband.

"Takuto!" Wako cried as tears form in her eyes.

"WAKO!" Takuto shouted in horror. Suddenly, he gasped in pain as Relius punches him hard in the back, causing him to drop his Star Swords and fell to his knees.

"NO!" Carl cried.

"TAKUTO!" Wako cried again, this time with tears rolling down her cheeks. Takuto grits his teeth as Relius pulls his hair back and lifts his head up.

"Now…watch as I torture your wife and friend." Relius smirks evilly as a control panel magically appears in front of you.

"No, please…" Takuto begged. But Relius ignores his pleas and activates the torture cells. Immediately, both Carl and Wako let ear-piercing screams as the cells electrocute them.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Tears freely flow down Takuto's cheeks as he helplessly watched in horror. He let out a cry of horror.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: Can our heroes still save Carl and Wako? Stay tune and read and review!**


	29. Battle With Relius

**Sovereign: I would like to thank GoldenRoseTanya, Assault Godzilla, Lightmoon54, splitheart1120 and zeprincelini for reviewing!**

_**Chapter 28: Battle With Relius**_

Takuto could only watch in horror as Wako and Carl let out agonizing screams while they are being electrocuted inside their cells.

"Stop it! Stop doing this!" Takuto pleaded in horror.

"You know Takuto, I'm surprised your wife too as the same level of magic as you. Soon, I shall collect enough magic to change this world with Cornelia." Relius said with a smirk.

"RELIUS!"

Relius widens his eyes when he hears the voice and suddenly, without warning, the blast of demonic magic blasts through the floor and both Relius and Takuto falls back. The two look up and sees Darren floating in the air with his demonic wings on his back.

"Darren!" Takuto said happily. Relius turns his head around and sees Erza, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Wendy, Juvia, Jellal, Mirajane, Judith, Yuri and Estelle running over.

"You're not getting away, Relius!" Erza shouted angrily, gripping her swords tightly.

"Darren!" Takuto yelled at him. "Save Carl and Wako!" Darren turns around and sees Carl and Wako still being electrocuted in their cells. Darren nods his head and flies over.

"No! You're not destroying my plans again, Darren Leong!" Relius yelled. He was about to extend his hand out but Takuto yells as he tackles Relius to the ground and sits above him.

"How dare you hurt my wife!" Takuto yelled furiously as he picks up his Star Sword Emeraude from the floor and points the tip of its blade at Relius's neck. "Now surrender and accept your punish-"

Before Takuto could finish talking, Relius turns his head and extends his hand at the laboratory table. Takuto gasped as he turns his head and sees the table heading towards him. Takuto quickly gets off from Relius and as the table approaches him, he swings his Star Sword vertically and slices the table in half.

Unfortunately, this also leaves Takuto open and Relius quickly lifts his leg up and kicks him in the gut. Takuto groans as he falls on his back.

Relius gets up and sees the prison cells are now open and damaged. Darren lifts his demonic hands up and shot two small blasts at Carl and Wako's chains. The chains break and Carl and Wako both land on the ground.

Darren goes over to Carl and lifts his body up. He looks down at him and sees that he is slowly opening his eyes.

"Darren?" Carl murmured.

"**It's okay, the others and I are getting you out of here."** Darren smiled at him while grabbing his hand.

"No you're not!" Relius yelled. Darren, Carl and Wako look up and see Relius turning around and he extends his hand at the other wizards and fighters.

"Req Vinum!" Relius yelled and creates a huge magic barrier that blocks the doorway. "Try to go through that, Fairy Tail!"

"Oh no! We WILL go inside!" Lucy shouted as she takes out one of her celestial keys.

Relius now turns to Darren, Carl and Wako and stretches out his hand at them. "Id Lauger!" He shouted.

Carl widens his eyes and gasped. "WATCH OUT!"

Suddenly, a huge mechanical hand comes out from Relius's sleeves and reaches out for the three.

Darren tosses Carl over to Wako, who quickly catches him with her arms and he yells as he uses right demonic hand to grasp the mechanical hand and stops to wrestle with it.

"It seems you have grown stronger after ten years, Darren Leong." Relius said to him. "But you will never stop me and Cornelia from bringing our plans to full fruition!"

"**Talk all you want, Relius."** Darren replied. **"But I will stop you from destroying Earthland because you may be a master alchemist who has every knowledge in dark magic and an entire army of fallen creatures, but you will never have one thing which is the secret to making me strong again!"**

"And what is that?! TELL ME!" Relius demanded.

"FRIENDS!" Darren yelled back and using all of his strength, he crushes Relius's mechanical hand and the alchemist widens his eyes in horror.

"NO!" Relius cried. Suddenly, Takuto yells as he gets up and charges over to Relius swings his Star Sword Saphir horizontally at him. Relius yells in pain as his stomach is slashed. He backs away and suddenly, the magic barrier which was guarding the doorway was broken open. The explosion knocks Relius back and he falls to the ground flat on his face. He gets up and turns around to see Loke standing at the doorway adjusting his glasses.

"Great work Loke!" Lucy said.

"Anything for you Lucy." Loke replied calmly.

"Come! Let's take him out!" Gray yelled as he and the others enter the room.

"No! It can't end like this!" Relius said as he staggers up to his feet. However, as soon as he stands up, Wendy, Lucy and Jellal go over to Relius and the three punch Relius in the face together. As Relius steps back, Gray goes over to him and swings his ice hammer at him.

"Ice Make: Hammer!" Gray yelled and he hits Relius hard in the face with it, sending him spinning around.

"LUNA GALE!" Judith shouted as she jumps in the air and delivers several kicks to Relius's face, sending him staggering back and towards Carl, whom has got back up to his feet.

"Laetabillis Cantata!" Carl yelled as he summons a huge golden gear and the gear swiftly spins towards his father, knocking him back.

"Dance, my Blades. CIRCLE SWORD!" Erza shouted as she swings both of her swords at Relius and they both slash across his body and sends him staggering back.

"WATER WHIP!" Juvia yelled as she swings his water whip at Relius and knocks him further back. Yuri and Estelle both run over to him and go behind him.

"This is for Carl!" Estelle yelled angrily as both she and Yuri punch him together in the back, sending Relius walking forward.

Natsu now goes over to him and punches him in the gut. Relius gasped for air as Natsu delivers another punch. He says the following words every time he lands at punch at any part of Relius's body.

"YOU…ARE…THE…WORST…FATHER…EVEEEEEEEERRRRRRRR!"

Natsu finishes this by delivering one powerful punch across Relius's cheek and the blow sends him flying into the air and breaks through the ceiling of the mansion. But they were not done yet. Mirajane, still in her demonic form, flies swiftly over to Relius and grabs his ankle. Mirajane then spins around in incredible speed and tosses Relius back into the mansion.

"He's all yours!" Mirajane yelled.

"Care to do it with me, Darren?" Natsu asked, lighting his fist in fire.

"**Sure thing."** Darren replied as he curls his right demonic hand into a fist. The two let out their yells as they deliver their punches as Relius approaches towards them and the two men punch him hard in the gut and the blow sends him falling through the huge hole and he crash-landed at the bottom floor.

Everybody all let out huge sighs as the battle is over. Erza changes back into her normal armor, Mirajane transforms back into her normal human form and Lucy summons Loke back into the Spirit World. Takuto puts away his Star Swords and run over to Wako.

"Wako!" Takuto cried.

"Takuto!" Wako cried back to him as she gets up. The couple then pull themselves into a loving embrace. "Takuto, I'm so sorry I got you hurt. They kidnapped me from out of nowhere and I got myself into danger."

"It's okay Wako. At least you're safe." Takuto smiled as he strokes her hair.

"Carl!" Estelle cried as she goes over to Carl.

"Estelle!" Carl said and the two pull themselves into an embrace as well.

"Carl! I'm so sorry!" Estelle wailed as tears pool out from her eyes and spill onto Carl's cape.

"It's okay Estelle." Carl said as tears are forming in his eyes as well.

"Carl…I…I didn't mean…I never meant…for this…to happen to you…I…I'm sorry!" Estelle managed to whimper between sobs.

"Estelle, it's alright. I'm just glad to have you back in your normal self." Carl replied. "I'm happy for you."

Everybody else present in the room smile as they watch the two embrace. After the two pull away from each other, Estelle goes over to Darren with a frown.

"Darren…" Estelle spoke up as she wipes her tears. "I'm sorry."

"For what, Lady Estellise?" Darren asked her.

"At first, I have no intentions in forgiving you. But now, I have learnt the truth and that I should have never give myself into my hatred. Because of my desire to take revenge on you, I was the cause of all this trouble…and I'm sorry." Estelle said sadly.

"Estelle, revenge will never bring back the lives of the dead. We just need to find the strength to live on. I forgive you." Darren said.

"And I forgive you too." Estelle replied. She and Darren then pull themselves into a warm embrace of forgiveness.

"It's so good that Estelle and Darren finally forgive each other!" Wendy smiled.

Lucy turns to Takuto and Wako and asked, "Wako, why would Relius capture you?"

"Because..." Wako said. "I was the one who gave Takuto his magic powers."

"Really?" Erza widens her eyes at them.

"Yes." Takuto nodded his head. "After I married Wako, she revealed to me that inside her body is magical galactic power. As her husband, I now have the right of inherit her power and that is how I got my magical powers."

"I'm not a magic-user but my body still does contain magic." Wako said.

Then, everybody heard a moan. Everybody present in the room, gathered around the hole and look down to see Relius twitching at the bottom floor.

His mask has been broken in half, revealing his true face. His face is filled with bruises and his body is badly injured.

"It…would be nice…if somebody…delivers the final blow to me…ending my life." Relius managed to say. "All of you seem like perfect candidates…Darren, do you wish to avenge Noel by ending my life? Estelle, do you wish to avenge your family's deaths and Carl's kidnapping? Carl, do you wish to avenge your mother and sister? Yuri, do you wish to avenge yourself for kidnapping you and endangering your mother? Takuto, do you wish to avenge your wife for her kidnapping? Judith, do you wish to avenge your race for the destruction of Kalafina which cause their exile? And all of Fairy Tail, do you wish to avenge yourselves for the hurting and kidnapping of your friends? Anyone of you…go ahead…and fulfil your destiny in killing me."

Everybody narrow their eyes angrily at Relius.

"You don't get it, do you Relius?" Darren said to him. "Revenge will get us nothing. We will not kill you." Everybody else nods their heads and walk away, leaving Relius behind.

"Ugh…" Relius groans in pain. "How dare you…let me die…in shame…" He then lets out one final breath, closes his eyes and slumps his head to the side.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, everybody including Happy, Charle and Lihua are sitting together at the town's pier in silence as they all watch the sun setting down from the sky.<p>

"My father is finally gone…" Carl said grimly. "But why doesn't anyone of us feel satisfied?"

"Because of our work isn't done." Darren replied as he clutches his fists tightly. "Tomorrow, we're heading back to Alahorn."

"Let's stop Cornelia and prevent Earthland from perishing." Judith added.

"Let's teach that witch a few magic tricks of our own." Jellal said, narrowing his eyes.

"And we shall stop her together." Lucy nods his head. Everybody stood up as the sun completely sets off and night has fallen.

"Come everyone…let's save Earthland." Natsu said to everyone, slamming his fists together. Everybody nod in agreement.

"Prince Yuri!"

Everybody turn around and see an Alahornian knight riding his horse towards them. A woman is sitting behind him. Yuri widens his eyes, recognizing the both of them.

"Flynn! Mom!"

Flynn gets off his horse and helps the queen consort to land on the ground safely.

"Mother! You're safe!" Yuri said as he hugs his mother.

"Yuri! I was so worried about you!" The queen consort said in relief as she rubs the back of her son. As the two pull away from their hug, everybody else walk up to them.

"I see you made many new friends during our exile." The queen consort said as she sees everybody standing behind Yuri.

"Yeah, I sure did." Yuri smiled.

"Prince Yuri, hate to interrupt your reunion." Flynn spoke up and Yuri turns his head to him. "But things have gone bad back at Alahorn."

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: Relius may have been defeated but our heroes' mission is not over yet…**

**Stay tune and read and review!**


	30. Prepare for War

**Sovereign: I was originally going to wait until a friend of mine send her reviews, that's why this chapter took a while. But I decided to upload at least one more chapter before she does. :) I would like to thank GoldenRoseTanya, splitheart1120, KanaeHitomi, Lightmoon54, Assault Godzilla and zeprincelini for reviewing! Thanks guys!**

_**Chapter 29: Prepare for War**_

_**One Year Ago…**_

_It was early in the morning. Somewhere, in a forest located miles away from the capital, hundreds of Alahornian soldiers are training and doing drills outside their barracks. Commandant and Prince Yuri Lowell was almost finishing putting on his uniform. After tying his hair into a ponytail, he grabs his scabbard and walks out of his barrack._

_Upon exiting, an officer salutes to him. Yuri turns to the officer and bowed his head before walking his way to the training area._

_When he arrives, he stops and sees Guradana punching a recruit to the ground. Yuri gasped as he sees the officers standing behind Guradana laughing triumphantly while two other recruits named Sodia and Tsuna Sawada quickly run over to the poor beaten soldier and carry him up from the ground._

"_And that is why you will never be in the elite corps with us! Because you are weak and pathetic! Just like your father!" Guradana taunted cruelly at the soldier. The other officers standing behind him laughed._

"_It's okay, don't listen to them Flynn." Sodia said to Flynn._

_After rubbing off the bruise from his left cheek, Flynn looks up at Guradana and said, "At least my father died heroically in battle and wasn't an arrogant scumbag like you."_

_Guradana growled angrily at Flynn's response. "How dare you talk back to your superior?!" Guradana shouted as he pulls back his fist, ready to give Flynn another punch in the face._

"_THAT'S ENOUGH!" Yuri shouted._

_Guradana stops at mid-punch and turns to the prince who is walking towards them._

"_Your Highness." Guradana said as he and his officers immediately stood up straight and salute to Yuri._

"_What's going on here?" Yuri asked Guradana, folding his arms._

"_This lowlife recruit taunted at me! An Elite Corps officer!" Guradana said, pointing a finger at Flynn._

"_Is that so?" Yuri asked, turning to Flynn, Sodia and Tsuna. Yuri widens his eyes upon seeing Flynn. "Flynn Scifo? Is that you?"_

_Flynn let out a gasp as he smiles at Yuri. "Prince Yuri Lowell…" Guradana and his officers gasped in shock._

"_Y-y-y-your Highness, you know him?!" Guradana asked. Yuri ignored him as he kneels down to Flynn and extends a hand._

"_Flynn, I see you made it into the army." Yuri smirked._

"_I told you I would." Flynn smiled back as he grabs his hand and Yuri helps pull him up._

"_So Flynn, did you really cause trouble to Captain Guradana here?" Yuri asked, folding his arms._

"_Y-yes Yuri." Flynn said, lowering his head. "I'm sorry but Captain Guradana was insulting my late father and his actions during the battle of Morrick."_

"_Hmph." Guradana snorted as he folds his arms. "You think an apology to the Prince and Commandant is going to let you off easily?"_

_Yuri places his hand on Flynn's shoulder. "Flynn, I'm sorry about your father. He may have disobeyed his orders, but I heard he did it to save most of his soldiers in his unit. He really was a true hero."_

"_Thank you." Flynn replied, not looking at him._

"_Your Highness! This recruit here deserves a heavy punishment! What should his punishment be?" Guradana asked, interrupting their moment._

_Yuri turns to Guradana and gave a cold glare. "Captain Guradana, you may be an officer in the Elite Corps, but that doesn't mean you can abuse your superiority to taunt people who are lower than you. You are a disgrace to the Alahornian army." He said to him._

"_WHAT?!" Guradana yelled in shock._

"_You two." Yuri said, turning to Sodia and Tsuna. "Take him to the medical bay."_

"_Yes your Highness." Tsuna said as he and Sodia salute before walking over to Flynn._

"_And thank you." Sodia added to Yuri._

"_No problem." Yuri smiled at her._

"_Your Highness! This is unfair! You are letting him off?! Why?! Is it because he is your friend? You can't let him off because he's your friend! You're abusing your superiority too!" Guradana snapped._

"_Aren't all my soldiers in the Alahornian army friends to one another?" Yuri said, turning to the officer._

"_Grrrr…." Guradana grits his teeth. He then points a finger angrily at the prince. "I'm not wrong and you know it! I shall prove it to you in a duel!"_

_Flynn, Sodia, Tsuna and all the other surrounding soldiers gasped._

"_Captain, aren't you taking a little too far?" One of the officers standing behind Guradana asked, panicking._

"_Shut up! I know what I'm doing!" Guradana shouted at the officer._

_Yuri shrugs and unsheathes his sword. "If it's a duel you want, then go ahead. Attack me."_

_Guradana smirked evilly as he unsheathes his sword as well. "I shall now prove to everyone why I'm in the Elite Corps!" He let out a battle yell as he charges towards Yuri while pointing his sword straight towards him._

_However, when Guradana is near the prince, Yuri simply swings his sword vertically, deflecting Guradana's sword and send it flying into the air. When his sword lands on the ground, Guradana's jaw dropped as he finds himself standing in front of Yuri. Yuri narrows his eyes and punches him in the face, sending the Elite Corps officer stumbling to the ground._

_Flynn, Sodia, Tsuna and the other surrounding soldiers all applauded as Yuri sheathes his sword back into his cabbard. Guradana groans as he sits himself up from the ground. He places his hand on his nose. When he looks at his fingers, he gasped as he sees it covered in blood._

"_My face…my beautiful face…" He uttered._

"_And that is why my father made me Commandant, not just for being the prince." Yuri said to everyone. The surrounding soldiers salute to yuri in respect before walking off and going back to their duties._

_Yuri walks over to Flynn, Sodia and Tsuna who are still standing at where they are._

"_That was amazing, your Highness!" Sodia said in amusement._

"_You teach that guy a lesson!" Tsuna added._

"_I can't believe you are actually his friend, Flynn!" Sodia said to Flynn._

"_Thank you so much Yuri." Flynn smiled at him. "How can I ever thank you?"_

"_Well…I have a proposal." Yuri said before extending a hand. "How would you like to be my second-in-command?"_

_Flynn was shocked for a moment. Then, he cracks up a smile and grabs Yuri's hand. "I would be honored, your Highness."_

"_Please." Yuri winked an eye at him. "Just call me Yuri."_

_Guradana growled angrily as he watched Yuri and Flynn shaking hands. "Yuri Lowell…I will have my revenge one day…just you wait!" He murmured._

* * *

><p><strong>Present time…<strong>

Guradana, dressed in his uniform, stood proudly in front of a large pair of gates of the royal palace of Alahorn.

He chuckled after reminiscing the past. He began laughing as he threw his head back, leaning forward and clutches his chest. When he lifts his head back up, an evil smile crossed his face.

"Oh Yuri Lowell, how does it feel to be dead? With you and that bastard Flynn Scifo gone, nobody is in command of your army…but me!"

Three officers now walk up to Guradana. The first officer was a man with shoulder-length gray hair. His name was Alexei Dinoia. The second officer was a man with spiky orange hair. His name was Luciano Bradley. The third officer was a man with neat brown hair. His name was Sosuke Aizen. All three officers are dressed in brown uniforms and black capes.

"All our men are ready for battle, Captain Guradana." Luciano said. Guradana turns around and smirks as he sees all ten thousand Alahornian soldiers standing behind Alexei, Luciano and Aizen. Half of the soldiers are armed with swords and shields and the other half are mounted on armored horses and armed with lances.

"Good. Very good." Guradana said.

"Captain Guradana, this is a message from King Lowell of Alahorn." Alexei said. "Our former Major, Flynn Scifo, is a traitor to the kingdom of Alahorn and is therefore immediately stripped of his Alahornian citizenship and army rank. Thus you are now _Major _Guradana."

Guradana smiled arrogantly and bows his head. "Thank you, your Majesty."

When he lifts his head back up, Aizen added, "Also, our former Commandant, Prince Yuri Lowell of Alahorn, is now deceased. Thus you are now _Commandant _Guradana." When he finished, Aizen hands him a light blue uniform, a blue cape and shiny silver pauldrons, the same kind of attire which both Yuri and Flynn would wear.

Guradana smirked evilly as he takes the clothing. "It would be my pleasure and honor, your Majesty." Alexei, Luciano and Aizen now kneel down on one knee to their new Commandant. All ten thousand soldiers behind them kneel down in respect as well.

Guradana looks up and sees King Lowell walking up to the palace balcony and is looking down at him. "Commandant Guradana, you shall go forth and bring victory, glory and prosperity to Alahorn!"

Guradana salutes to the King by placing his hand on his chest. "Yes your majesty!"

"OPEN THE GATES!" The King shouted. Guradana turns around as the massive gates opened, letting a huge mighty groan.

The doors fully open to reveal a huge battleship parked outside the palace. The battleship is about the size of ten Olympic swimming pools and is armed with a hundred magic cannons. It is painted silver with golden strips and details and has five large engines on its back.

"Yes, at long last, all the power is in my hands." Guradana uttered before he threw his head back and let out another evil laugh.

* * *

><p>"They are going to invade all of Earthland." Flynn explained to everyone.<p>

"WHAT?!" Everybody shouted in response.

"It's true." Flynn nods his head. "And Guradana is in control of the army."

"If we don't stop them, everybody in Fiore…and Magnolia will…" Lucy uttered.

"Perish." Erza nods her head. "Yes."

"Dammit." Yuri cursed as he clutches his fists tightly. "I never thought that bastard would take over my position one day." He looks back up at Flynn. "Is there any other people who are not with Guradana and are still siding with us?"

Flynn gestures to Sodia and Tsuna who are both walking towards them.

"We're all that's left Your Highness." Tsuna said to Yuri.

"Sorry about that." Flynn added.

"Dammit." Yuri cursed again as he turns his head away. "The Alahorn army is ten thousand men strong. How can we ever stop them all?"

"Yuri." Erza said as she walks to him. Yuri looks up at her as the crimson-haired woman places a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. We shall call the rest of my guild to help you."

"Yeah!" Lucy yelled as she pumps her fist into the air.

"Alright!" Mirajane smiled as she tilts her head to the side.

"Yeah! Let's beat up some Alahornian butt!" Gray smirked as he pounds his fists together.

"And we must also warn the Magic Council about the upcoming invasion! Ask them to send their Rune Knights to join us!" Wendy said.

"That is a good idea Wendy." Erza smiled. "The Magic Council must know about this!"

"I shall call Meredy and Ultear for help too." Jellal said, nodding his head.

"Judith." Darren said, turning to the Krityan. "There is a village in the forest outside Kalafina. My friend Allelujah and your people are there."

Judith gasped and widens her eyes. "You mean, male Krityans from my village?"

"Yes, that is where they are. Perhaps you can ask them for help and fight alongside us." Darren said.

Judith smiles and bows her head. "Yes, it is time…" She now lifts her head up and raises her fist into the air. "For my people to fight and rise again!"

"Awesome! With the combined forces of the Krityans, Jellal's allies, the Rune Knights and Fairy Tail, we may be a force to be reckoned with!" Natsu yelled in excitement.

"It's still not big enough though. But we still need to stop Guradana's troops from invading all of Earthland, no matter what." Yuri said.

Estelle walks over to Yuri, nods her head and grabs Yuri's left hand. "I shall fight alongside you to stop the Alahorn army." She said.

Yuri smiled at her. "Thank you, Estelle."

"Don't forget us!" Natsu smirked. Lucy, Juvia, Gray, Erza, Mirajane, Wendy, Happy, Charle, Carl, Judith, Jellal and Lihua nod their heads.

"Us too!" Takuto said as he and Wako nod their heads.

"Thank you." Yuri smiled at everyone. "All of you." He now turns to Flynn, Sodia and Tsuna. "There's no time to lose. Let's go get help now!"

As everybody else makes their leave, Darren spoke to Judith and Takuto. "Judith, Takuto, may I talk to you?" He asked. The two turn to Darren and gave puzzled looks at him.

"What is it, Darren?" Takuto asked.

"Yuri is right. Our army will not be big enough to face Alahorn." Darren said lowering his head.

"Darren, we have to at least try." Judith said as she walks up to Darren.

When Darren lifts his head back up, he spoke again. "But, I have a solution…and it may be crazy. And I need Takuto's help."

Takuto smirked. "Crazy is my middle name."

* * *

><p>Later, at Spinoza's mansion, Darren, Takuto, Wako, Lihua, Judith and Yuri's mother are in laboratory where Carl and Wako are originally held captive. The Queen of Alahorn chose to stay behind in the village with Wako and Lihua where they will be safe. Darren enters the third prison cell which is still intact after their battle with Relius.<p>

"Are you sure it will work?" Wako asked Darren. Darren turns around and faces his friends.

"I have to at least try." Darren replied. He turns to Judith. "Judith, you may go now. And please, don't die out there."

Judith smiled and nods her head as she draws out her spear. "Good luck Darren." She turns around and walks away. When she's far away from the laboratory, she whispered under her breath. "I love you."

Darren now turns to Takuto. "Activate the prison cell."

"Once you get yourself frozen, your pulse rate will lower and you only got thirty minutes to do whatever you need to do or you will die permanently. Understand?" Takuto said.

"Got it. Now do it." Darren said. Takuto nods his head and summons the control panel in front of him. He activates the cell and suddenly, nitrogen blows inside the cell, freezing Darren inside.

Another panel appears on the control panel, showing Darren's pulse, which is beating incessantly. Wako, Lihua and the Queen walk closer to the cell.

"Will he be alright?" Lihua asked. The Queen places her hand on Lihua's shoulder and smiled down at her.

"I'm sure he will…" She assured.

* * *

><p>Darren snaps his eyes open and finds himself lying on a familiar grassy field. He turns his head to the side to see CC lying next to him.<p>

"Wow." CC said as she rose up from the ground. "The afterlife looks beautiful."

"I know right?" Darren said as he gets up as well. The two turn to the front to see Noel walking over to them.

"Darren? What are you doing here again?" Noel asked puzzled.

"Noel, I require your help." Darren replied.

Noel narrows her eyes. "I'm listening…"

**END OF CHAPTER**


	31. The Battle Begins

**Sovereign: Hello everyone! I'm back with another chapter of the Demon Prince. I'm sorry that this chapter took longer than usual due to work, personal problems and lack of motivation. ^^; I would like to thank Lightmoon54, Assault Godzilla, GoldenRoseTanya and splitheart1120 for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks guys!**

_**Chapter 30: The Battle Begins**_

Makarov ran as fast as he could towards the Magic Council meeting room. If what Mirajane told him is right, then he had to warn the Council of Alahorn's upcoming invasion!

He burst through the doors to the meeting room where the Council is having a discussion. Guran and the council members immediately turn their heads to Makarov who is panting heavily at the doorway.

"Makarov?" Org said puzzled.

"What are you doing here Makarov?! We are in the middle of a discussion!" Guran yelled angrily as he stood up.

"You can have your discussions later." Makarov said after catching his breath. He lifts his head up and said to the council, "Chairman Guran Doma, I have just been informed from my guild members that Alahorn is preparing an all-out invasion on all of Earthland! If the Council does not take action on this, all kingdoms in Earthland, including Fiore shall fall!"

"How do you know of this? Do you have any evidence?" One member asked Makarov.

"Council, there is no time to provide evidence! My guild members inform me that they have started with their plans! We have to take action!" Makarov shouted.

"Silence!" Guran snapped. "Why should we attack Alahorn? They have done nothing wrong!"

"Like how nobody prevent them from conquering Temza?!" Makarov said angrily, shaking his fists.

"Temza's fall is by their own hands, not Alahorn. That is why we take no action on them." Org replied.

"What about the smaller colonies which Alahorn invade and conquer for the past ten years?!"

"They were undisputed territories with no other kingdoms claiming them." One member replied.

"So you guys really are just going to sit on your seats and let Alahorn invade us?!" Makarov yelled, completely reaching his limits.

"There is no proof whatsoever that Alahorn is going to invade all of Earthland and that's final!" Guran shouted, banging his fists on the table.

Makarov grits his teeth and shakes his fists angrily. "If you guys are going to do nothing, there won't be a Magic Council."

With that, Makarov turns around and makes his leave with his head hung low.

Unbeknownst to him and the council, Doranbolt was watching the whole scene while standing at the second level balcony.

"Alahorn…that's where Wendy and the others are…" Doranbolt uttered.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Erza is driving the Buffalo down the road with Jellal sitting next to her and Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Wendy, Mirajane, Juvia, Carl, Happy and Charle seated at the back of the vehicle. Erza is driving as fast as she can back to the capital of Alahorn, but along the way are also picking up two allies who will be joining them in battle.<p>

Jellal widens his eyes when he spots Ultear and Meredy standing at the side of the road.

"There they are!" Jellal said.

"Right." Erza responded and stops the vehicle next to the two.

Gray opens the back door of the Buffalo, allowing Ultear and Meredy into enter. "Hello again, master." Ultear said, bowing to Jellal.

"Meredy-san…" Juvia smiled at the pink-haired mage. Meredy turns to Juvia and smiled.

"Hello Juvia." Meredy replied.

Ultear turns to Gray who smirks at her. "Never thought I would see you again." Gray said to her. Ultear responded by nodding her head.

"Close the door now! There's no time to lose!" Erza yelled. Lucy and Natsu quickly close the door and Erza continues driving the Buffalo.

* * *

><p>Yuri, Flynn, Sodia and Tsuna rode their horses through a forest with Estelle riding behind Yuri and Judith riding behind Flynn.<p>

Eventually, they arrived at the village where the male Krityan warriors and Temzan refugees are waiting for them at the entrance. The male Krityans are armed with spears while the refugees are armed with whatever tools they have.

"Halt Alahornian soldiers!" Daniel yelled as he and the other male Krityans get into their battle stances with spears.

"Please, lower your weapons! We are not here to fight!" Yuri said as he, Flynn, Sodia and Tsuna raise up their hands.

"And why should we believe you?" Allelujah asked as he and Marie walk pass the Krityans and over to the four.

"Because your friend Darren needs all of your help." Estelle replied as she gets off Yuri's horse.

Allelujah gasped, recognizing the girl. "Princess Estellise..."

"And if we don't corporate, we will all die." Judith said as she gets off Flynn's horse. The male Krityans and the refugees gasped upon seeing Judith and Estelle and they immediately lower their weapons.

"Judith! It's you!" Daniel cried.

"Hello my men." Judith nods her head. "It's good to see you all again."

"Temzans! I am Princess Estellise Sidos Heurassein of Temza, granddaughter of King Lucas Heurassein! I am here to lead you like my grandfather and parents before me!" Estelle cried.

"She really does resemble Princess Genevieve!" A male refugee said.

"She is Genevieve's daughter!" Another male refugee shouted.

"Temzan monarchy hasn't died after all!" A woman cried in joy.

Allellujah bowed before Estelle. "Welcome back, Princess Estellise."

Estelle smiled at Allelujah. "Thank you, Allelujah."

"Judith." Daniel said as he and the other male Krityans kneel down before her. "It is good to see you again."

"Thank you." Judith bowed. "But now it's not the time to celebrate our reunion. Alahorn is preparing to invade all of Earthland and we have to stop them!"

"If we don't, there will no longer be an Earthland. Who's with us?!" Yuri shouted.

"Let us fight!" Allelujah responded as he pumps his fist in the air.

"AYE!" The male Krityans and the refugees shouted in response.

* * *

><p>A while later, Guradana, now dressed in his new uniform arrives at the ship's command bridge, followed by Alexei, Luciano and Aizen. Guradana and his officers walk through a small bridge. Below the bridge were forty intelligence officers seated at their control panels. Guradana, Alexei, Luciano and Aizen walk over to the front and look out the huge window to see their entire army being positioned below the ship.<p>

"Give us the command, Commandant." Alexei said as he hands Guradana a radio speaker.

Guradana smirked evilly before speaking into his speaker. "ALL UNITS! MOVE OUT AND CONQUER ALL OF EARTHLAND! ALL HAIL ALAHORN!"

"ALL HAIL ALAHORN!" The soldiers shouted in response. The ten thousand men army then march through the capital with its citizens watching from the balconies of their homes.

Meanwhile, at the palace, King Lowell continues to watch as Cornelia walks up to him from behind.

"Isn't this amazing Cornelia?" King Lowell asked her. "Thanks to your and Relius' assistance, my men are stronger than ever and ready to invade all of Earthland. And once I gain my immortality, I can rule this world…_forever_…"

"Yes your Majesty." Cornelia said. "Indeed."

"Speaking of Relius, by now, you should have heard his demise." King Lowell said.

"Yes. It's a shame that he died. But no matter." Cornelia shrugs. "People die anyway."

"I am very thankful for your help Cornelia. Without you, I would have never achieved my dream in bringing prosperity to my kingdom." King Lowell said as he spread out his arms.

Cornelia smirked evilly. _'He sure does act like a fool.'_

Guradana watched in glee as his battleship flew above his army. Oh how he has long waited for this moment. Soon he and his army will help conquer all of Alahorn and his name will forever be written in history for generations to come.

Suddenly, Guradana's thoughts are interrupted when one of the officer's radar starts beeping.

"Sirs! I've detected hostiles on my radar!" The officer yelled from his seat.

"How many?!" Alexei asked.

The officer gasped as many more red pixels appear on his radar. "Around three thousand! And they are four hundred meters from our current location!"

* * *

><p>Outside the capital, an army of over three thousand men were assembled amidst a grassy hill . At the very front of the army were Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Juvia, Mirajane, Jellal, Ultear, Meredy, Wendy, Happy, Charle and Carl.<p>

Behind them, mounted on horses were Yuri, Flynn, Sodia, Tsuna and Estelle. Behind the five was their army of volunteers, split into five columns. One column of male Krityan warriors armed with spears. In front of the column was Judith, armed with her spear and mounted on a horse.

The second column was all the members of Fairy Tail. Levy, Elfman, Lisanna, Laxus, Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen, Cana, Gajeel, Pantherlily, Jet, Droy, Macao, Romeo, Alzack, Bisca, Reedus, Nab, Wakaba, Laki, Vijeeter, Max and Warren are all ready to do battle. In front of them was Makarov.

Two other columns consist of Temzan refugees whom were formerly soldiers of the Temzan army and they are all dressed in their old armor. They are split into two columns, one which consists of those armed with swords and another which consists of those armed with bows and arrows. In front of both columns are Allelujah Haptism, dressed in his red Templar attire and armed with his crossbow, and Marie Parfacy, dressed in an orange and white jumpsuit and armed with a rifle.

Another column consists of Doranbolt's and Lahar's units which has over four hundred Rune Knights armed with swords and spears. In front of them were Doranbolt and Lahar, mounted on their horses and armed with their swords. Although the Magic Council refused to attack Alahorn, Doranbolt and Lahar both ignored their orders and volunteer to fight alongside Fairy Tail.

"This sure is a nice grassy field." Macao said to Makarov as he examines the vast grass plains outside the capital. "Shame for us to battle on it."

"There's no way to avoid it." Makarov replied. "That field will soon be soaked with blood and covered with mangled bodies of many soldiers."

"Then let it be the enemy's." Gajeel said.

"Are you ready guys?" Erza asked her companions as she grabs her scabbard, ready to draw out her sword. "None of us may see each other again."

"I regret nothing." Gray said solemnly.

"Me too." Juvia added.

"My family is no longer living, so I have nothing to lose anymore." Carl replied.

Wendy turns to Carl with a concerned look. "Carl, surely you still have some feelings for Relius. He was your father after all."

"No Wendy." Carl replied as he turns to Wendy. "The father I knew has already died long ago." He turns Wendy's hand. "Come, let us fight together…til the end."

Wendy narrows her eyes and nods her head. "Let's."

"I see them! At the distance!" Flynn cried as he spots Guradana's battleship approaching from the capital.

Natsu clenches his fists tightly. "I sure can't wait to set that ship on flames." He said.

Lucy grabs his wrist, causing Natsu to lower down his anger and turns his head to her. "Let's do this together Natsu." Lucy said to him with a determined smile.

Natsu smiled back at her. "And let's promise to each other that we will see each other again after the battle."

Lucy nods her head. "Yes."

Yuri draws out his sword from his scabbard and so does Estelle, Flynn, Sodia and Tsuna. Estelle turns her head around to face her army.

"Everyone! We mustn't let the Alahorn army leave the borders!" Estelle shouted as she holds up her sword and the army responded with thunderous cheers.

Erza now draws out both of her swords and magically dresses up into her Armadura Fairy armor. "Get ready everyone!" She yelled.

Natsu smirked as he holds up a hand and creates a flame that forms the words 'Bring it on!'. "Let's take them down!" He yelled.

Lucy draws out her whip and shouted, "FOR EARTHLAND!"

"FOR EARTHLAND!" Everybody else shouted in unison as well.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: In the next chapter, prepare for battle…**

**Stay tune and read and review!**

**Also, to my readers living in Northeastern United States, please stay safe from Hurricane Sandy...**


	32. Battle of Alahorn

**Sovereign: Well guys, the next chapter is here! I would like to thank KanaeHitomi, splitheart1120, Lightmoon54 and GoldenRoseTanya for reviewing. Thanks guys!**

_**Chapter 31: Battle of Alahorn**_

Guradana watched from above as Fairy Tail and the Krityan warriors advance towards the capital first.

"What should we do sir?" Alexei asked Guradana.

"Send out the first wave of lancers!" Guradana yelled.

* * *

><p>All the mounted horsemen in the first wave ready their lances. "ATTACK!" A horseman captain yelled out.<p>

"ALL HAIL ALAHORN!" All the horsemen shouted in unison and they ride out of the capital and towards their enemy.

"They send those riding on horses to attack us who are running on land? THAT IS UNFAIR AND UNMANLY!" Elfman yelled angrily as he and his fellow guild mates charge towards the Alahornian soldiers and the capital.

"OPEN THE GATE OF RAM!" Lucy yelled as she swings her key. "ARIES!"

Aries magically appears next to Lucy and asked shyly as she runs alongside her mistress. "What is it, Mistress?"

"Use Wool Wall and create as big as you can!" Lucy ordered.

"Yes!" Aries then extends out her hands and creates a huge pink barrier made of wool in front of Lucy and the combined army.

"That's it Aries! Make it bigger!" Lucy cried.

"Yes Mistress!" Aries said as she makes the wool wall bigger and thicker.

When the Alahornian horsemen got closer towards the army, they all ride into the wool wall and they stop their horses and cough heavily, causing them to lose their guard.

"Ugh! Sir! I can't see!" One horseman shouted.

"Me too!" Another horseman added.

"Where is the enemy?!" A horseman captain shouted as he turns his head around, his vision blinded.

"Right here."

The captain turns his head to the side and immediately, Erza jumps over to him and slashes him across his chest with her swords. Erza lands on the ground safely while the captain falls to the ground.

Meanwhile, all the other horsemen are also being attacked by their enemies as the Fairy Tail members and their allies make use of this opportunity to take out most of them while their vision is still being hindered.

Lucy jumps over to a horseman and kicks him in the face. Natsu uses his Dragon's Roar attack and took down several horsemen. Gray uses his Ice Make Cannon and fires a shot, taking out ten horsemen. Gajeel, with a manic grin on his face, turns his right arm into an Iron Sword and mow through several horsemen. Laxus fires a bolt of lightning, wiping out several horsemen. Carl throws a Cantabile at three horsemen and all three are taken out in the explosion. Elfman, Pantherlily, Mirajane (in her demonic form) and Cana took out several horsemen with their bare fists. Judith and her Krityan warriors jump over to the horsemen and defeat them with their spears. The Krityans mount on their horses after their enemies have fallen. Yuri, Flynn, Estelle, Sodia and Tsuna fought together and defeated several horsemen by swinging their swords as they pass by them.

Meanwhile, at the battleship, Guradana turns to the officers and yelled at them, "Order our mages to clear out that barrier of wool!"

"Yes sir!" One officer responded.

"Sir." Luciano turns to Guradana and bowed. "Allow me to go down to the battlefield."

"As you wish, Luciano. I have no interests in prisoners. Kill them all." Guradana said.

Luciano smirked. "That's more like it."

* * *

><p>Several Alahornian mages arrived at the top of the battleship and aim their staffs at wool wall. They create a huge gust of wind, clearing out the wool. When it's cleared, all the Alahornian horsemen have been defeated while all the members of Fairy Tail and the Krityan warriors are still uninjured.<p>

Yuri turns to the surviving soldiers and holds up his sword. "Come along! Let's enter the capital together!"

The rest of the army shouted in response and they all storm into the capital together.

* * *

><p>Guradana grits his teeth angrily as he watched the enemy advance into the capital. He takes out his speaker and shouted, "ALL UNITS! ATTACK! SHOW NO MERCY!"<p>

All the Alahornian soldiers let out their battle cries as they engage in battle with the combined army.

Several Alahornian soldiers surround Natsu. Natsu unleashes his Fire Dragon's Roar again and turns around 360 degrees, taking out all the surrounding soldiers.

Judith rides her horse over to a soldier and stabs him with her spear.

"Archers! Fire!" Allelujah ordered all Temzan archers. He and the archers then hold up their bows and shot several arrows into the sky. The Alahornian soldiers stop and look up to see the arrows. The soldiers then turn around and drop their swords and shields, screaming in horror as they tried to run away from the line of fire but hundreds of them are killed as the arrows rain down on them.

Charle wraps her tail around Wendy and carries her into the sky. When Wendy is above her enemies, she shouted, "SKY DRAGON'S WING ATTACK!" She swings both of her arms and shot two huge gusts of wind at the Alahornian horsemen, wiping out a huge number of them.

One Alahornian soldier runs over to Lahar but the Rune Knight Captain quickly swings his sword at him, defeating him. Another soldier runs over to him. Lahar quickly turns to the side and takes out him. Lahar turns to his Rune Knights who are fighting as hard as they can against the enemies.

"Keep fighting everyone!" Lahar shouted. As he lets his guard down, one Alahornian soldier runs up to him and slashes his horse. The horse screeched in agony and Lahar falls to the ground as his horse collapses. Lahar looks up and sees the Alahornian soldier is holding his sword above him, ready to take him out. But Jellal suddenly shows up and quickly shot a blast of Dark Magic at the soldier.

Jellal turns to Lahar and asked, "Are you alright?"

Lahar narrows his eyes. "Doesn't mean you save my life, doesn't mean I forgive you for your actions." He said as he adjusts his glasses.

"Whatever." Jellal rolls his eyes. "Just get back up and continue fighting." With that, he runs off.

Makarov turns his fist into giant-sized and wipes out a huge number of Alahornian soldiers with one punch. Estelle is nearby taking out another soldier by swinging her sword. Makarov turns to Estelle and notices a hurt expression on her face.

"What's wrong, your Highness?" Makarov asked.

"This battle…" Estelle said. "It reminds me of Kalafina…"

"I know how it feels Princess." Makarov said to her. "But now, we can't let thoughts like that interrupt your concentration. We have to keep fighting."

Estelle narrows her eyes and nods her head. "Yes, you're right." She runs off and continues fighting.

Several Alahornian soldiers surround Carl Clover. "That's no way you can run boy!" One soldier yelled. Carl wraps his cape around him and runs off. "Get back here coward!" The soldiers quickly follow Carl as he runs into an alleyway. When they enter the alley, Carl takes out a remote and presses it. All the Cantabile mines he placed on the walls detonate at once and the soldiers scream as all of them are caught in the blast. Carl comes out from the other side of the alley and hangs on to his hat as smoke comes out from the alley.

"Carl Clover 7, Alahornian soldiers 0." Carl smirked as he adjusts his glasses.

Lisanna, now in her Tigress form, swings her claws and defeats several soldiers. Marie Parfacy fires her rifle and takes out four soldiers. Elfman grabs a soldier by his collar and throws him into the sky. Gajeel defeats twenty-two soldiers with his iron sword as he mows through them. Both Alzack and Bisca stood together and fire at the Alahornian soldiers with their revolvers.

Erza swings her swords vertically at a soldier, slashing his torso and defeating him. One soldier goes over to her from behind but Erza quickly turns around and kicks him across his face, then proceeds to punch him in the face, sending him sprawling through the ground. The soldier groans in pain as he lifts himself up but Luciano goes over to him and stomps him on his chest.

"Wha-Sir Luciano!" The soldier said.

"You know I don't tolerate failures." Luciano said coldly. He then lifts up his sword and, with a manic grin appearing on his face, stabs the soldier in the chest. Erza watched in disgust and horror as Luciano then removes the sword from the soldier's body and licks the blood off from its blade. He turns to Erza with a smug grin on his face.

Erza grits her teeth angrily. "Killing your own men? You're cruel." She said as she gets into her battle stance.

Luciano laughed out manically as he threw his head back. He then gets into a battle stance as well. "My name's Luciano Bradley."

Erza narrows her eyes. "And my name is Er-"

"I don't care about your name. I just want to KILL YOU!" Luciano charges towards Erza and when he reaches her, let out a series of loose attacks with his sword. The crimson-haired knight quickly blocks all of his attacks in incredible speed. However, Luciano manages to knock off one of her swords with his final blow.

Luciano tries to lift up his leg and kick her but Erza quickly backs away and now changes into her Robe of Yuen and her sword now turns into a spear.

"Fighting me without armor? Are you an idiot or what?!" Luciano shouted as he charges towards Erza.

Erza dashes towards him as well and replied, "Armor doesn't make the fighter. His will to survive does!"

While that's going on, several Alahornian horsemen managed to take out fifteen Krityan warriors.

"NO!" Judith yelled as she charges towards the Alahornian horsemen. As she rode through them, she swings her spear around, defeating all of them. After the Alahornian horsemen have fallen, Judith turns around and sees the Krityans who are lying on the ground defeated.

"You have fought well to the end." Judith lowers her head sadly before she goes back into battle.

One Alahornian soldier swings his sword at Tsuna and slashes him through his midsection. Tsuna yelled in agony as he falls to the ground.

"You sir…" The soldier said as he walks towards Tsuna and lifts his sword above his head. "Are not worthy to be our captain!"

"SHUT UP!" Flynn shouted angrily as he dashes over to the soldier and stabs him through the chest. After defeating him, Flynn goes over to Tsuna and extends a hand.

"Are you okay Tsuna?" Flynn asked in concern. As Tsuna grabs Flynn's hand, he turns his head and sees a group of Temzan soldiers being defeated by the Alahornians.

"I don't know if we can keep this up." Tsuna said as he places his other hand at his midsection, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Me too." Flynn said in worry. Then, the two turn their heads to the other side to see Juvia taking out several Alahornians with her water whip attack.

"We can't give up! We have to keep fighting until Darren arrives!" Juvia yelled to them. Charle flies over and places Wendy down next to Juvia.

"Juvia's right. And don't worry, whatever plan Darren has, it will turn the tide of this battle. We must trust him." Wendy added.

Flynn paused for a moment as he lifts Tsuna up and wraps his arm around his body. Then, he turns to Juvia and Wendy and replied, "Yeah, you're right. We can't stop now!" Flynn then carries Tsuna over to Wendy so that she can heal him with her Sky Magic.

Luciano swings his sword horizontally at Erza. Erza lifts her spear vertically and blocks it. The two back away from each other and Erza thrusts her spear towards Luciano, who parried and counter thrust at her. Erza steps to her right and the attack missed.

"You and your allies are outnumbered! Surrender now!" Luciano laughed as he swings his sword horizontally at Erza.

Erza ducked and yelled back angrily, "We will never quit! That isn't the way of Fairy Tail!"

Erza let out a yell as she lunges her spear towards Luciano who steps to his left and threw his head back. The two back away from each other.

"Ha! You missed!" Luciano mocked.

"Oh? Did I?" Erza smirked. Luciano arches an eyebrow in confusion, then he felt something on his right cheek. He places his hand on his right cheek and gasped as his fingers are now covered in blood. There was a cut across his right cheek and blood is trickling down from it.

"AH! NO! MY FACE!" Luciano cried in despair.

"Oh come on. Cheer up." Erza said. "At least you now look like a battle hardened warrior than a pretty boy in the battlefield."

An ugly scowl appears on Luciano's face. "YOU WILL DIE, YOU CRIMSON-HAIRED MONKEY!" He shouted angrily as his sword now glows orange. Erza gasps as she watched Luciano swings his sword vertically. "Solar Strike!"

A huge blast of orange energy heads towards Erza. Erza quickly evaded by leaping away and the blast ends up hitting a nearby building. The building collapses and some nearby Temzan and Alahornian soldiers are caught in the dust and debris.

Erza turns to Luciano and growled. Luciano laughed as he now holds up his other hand and magically creates six magical orbs above him.

"You're not thinking of destroying your own capital, are you?" Erza asked.

"Who cares?! Where's the fun in battle when there's no destruction?!" Luciano yelled manically. "Let's see if you can evade this!" He swings his hand and the six orbs head towards Erza.

Erza tries to evade by running away but the orbs followed her. Luciano laughed in delight.

"That's right! Run you coward!" Luciano mocked.

Erza ran as fast as she could but eventually, the orbs caught up to her and they detonated right behind her, creating a huge explosion. Erza yelled in agony as she is sent flying into the air and a few seconds later, lands on the ground in pain.

Jellal, who was battling three soldiers nearby, heard Erza's yell and turns around to see her lying on the ground injured. He gasped. "ERZA!"

Erza tries to get up. The back of her robes is now ripped and torn. Luciano laughed as he creates two more orbs. He throws the first orb as Erza tries to get up. The orb explodes in front of Erza and she is sent stumbling through the ground.

"Ugh!" Erza groaned as her face and arms are filled with cuts and bruises.

"You underestimated me, fool." Luciano said as he now stands above Erza. He gets ready to throw the second orb at her. "NOW DIE!"

"NO!" A voice shouted. Luciano turns his head and sees Jellal charging towards him in incredible speed. Jellal tackles Luciano into his midsection and the two stumble through the ground. The two men then get up to their feet.

Luciano sees that Jellal's body is surrounded in magic. He is in his Meteor form.

"Who the hell are you?!" Luciano asked angrily.

"I'm Jellal Fernandes and you will not hurt my friend!" Jellal replied. He then disappears from Luciano's sight. Luciano widens his eyes. Jellal then appears behind Luciano and punches him at the back of his head, sending him sprawling through the ground.

Luciano growls as he gets up to his feet and turns to Jellal. He creates three orbs and double their sizes. "Incredible speed, but can you dodge this?!"

"Jellal! Look out!" Erza cried. "These orbs will follow you!"

"_Follow me, huh?"_ Jellal thought.

"DIE!" Luciano now shoot the three orbs at Jellal. Jellal, in incredible speed, runs off and disappears again. Jellal then appears behind the orange-haired officer and smirked.

"Dodge this, Alahornian." Jellal said. Luciano gasped as the orbs are now going towards him because Jellal is right behind him.

"WHAT?!" Luciano yelled. When the orbs are near Luciano, Jellal disappears again and the orbs detonated in front of the officer, sending him flying in the air and his uniform is now torn and ripped in tatters.

Erza watched as Luciano lands on the ground in pain. Jellal then appears in front of her and extends a hand. Erza smiled at him.

"Thank you…Jellal." Erza said.

"I really am glad I can be helping you again, Erza." Jellal said, smiling back at her.

Erza grabs Jellal's hand and he pulls her up to her feet. They turn to Luciano, who growls as he gets up from the ground. "You…you two…shall pay for damaging my face and uniform. Now, I shall create a orb, ten times it's size so that neither of you can leave here alive!" The two watched as Luciano's body is now completely glowing in orange magic. He then flies into the sky and when he's in midair, holds up his hand and creates a giant orb, ten times bigger than its original size.

"This guy is crazy!" Jellal said.

"Jellal, there is no way we can evade it!" Erza said to him.

"You're right. Even in Meteor mode, I cannot dodge that orb." Jellal said, remembering that even he couldn't dodge the huge energy blast made by the Corpser back at forest. He then turns to his fellow comrades and soldiers who are battling the Alahornians near him and Erza. "And if that orb detonates, it will wipe out most of our allies." He said. He turns to Erza and said to her, "Well, I can always do the insane, just like in the past."

Erza smirked. "Do it."

"PREPARE TO GO TO THE AFTERLIFE!" Luciano yelled with a manic grin. He now fires the orb and laughed in delight. "STUPID FOOLS, IT'S TIME TO DIE!"

Jellal and Erza hold hands together and when the orb is near them, Erza yelled, "NOW!"

Within a second, Jellal and Erza both disappeared, and so does the orb. Luciano's smile vanished in an instant and he looks around.

"Where are they?!" He said.

"Right here!" Two voices shouted in unison. Luciano widens his eyes as Jellal and Erza appears in front of him. The officer widens his eyes in horror. If the two are in front of him, then-

"NO WAY!" Luciano turns around and sees the giant orb heading straight towards him! Jellal and Erza quickly leap away back to the ground while Luciano helpleesly watch the orb heading towards him. "NO! WHY MUST MY LIFE END LIKE THIS?!"

As Jellal and Erza land safely on the ground, the orb detonates and creates a huge explosion in midair. Luciano let out a blood curling scream as his body incinerates in flames.

Jellal and Erza both got up to their feet and smile at each other.

"Great work…friend." Erza said to him.

"You too." Jellal replied. He extends a hand to Erza, but the crimson-haired girl spread out her arms and wraps them around Jellal, giving him an embrace. Jellal sighed as he hugs back.

* * *

><p>"Sir! Our second and third waves are defeated!" An officer yelled from his seat.<p>

"We can't keep losing men like this!" Aizen said to Guradana. Guradana smirked evilly.

"Don't worry, let's unleash our ultimate weapon."

"What?" Alexei and Aizen both said.

"But Commandant Guradana, the weapon is still yet to be fully tested!" Alexei said.

"Don't worry, Alexei." Guradana said. "This battlefield _is _the weapon's test. FIRE!"

* * *

><p>While the battle rages on in the capital, the top doors of the battleship let out a groan as they both slowly open up.<p>

After taking out another soldier, Judith lowers her spear and turns to the battleship when she hears the groan. "What's going on?" She asked.

Natsu and Lucy both look up at the battleship and see a huge cannon slowly coming out from the top. "A cannon?" Lucy said.

Yuri and Flynn both gasped in horror. "Prince Yuri, is that what I think it is?" Flynn said in awe.

"I'm afraid so…" Yuri uttered.

Sodia goes over to Flynn and yelled in horror, "It's the Damocles!"

Yuri grits his teeth angrily. _"Damn you Guradana." _He turns around and yelled to Fairy Tail, the Temzan soldiers, Krityans and Rune Knights.

"EVERYBODY! FALL BACK!" Yuri shouted. Everyone stop their fighting and turn to Yuri.

"You heard him! RETREAT!" Flynn added.

* * *

><p>Back at the battleship, an officer walks over to Guradana and hands him a remote with a lever. Guradana smirks as he takes the remote and looks out the window.<p>

"Farewell." Guradana said. He grabs the lever and slowly pushes it down.

* * *

><p>The Damocles cannon starts charging up as everybody in the capital quickly run for their lives.<p>

Happy is carrying Natsu with his tail around his body while the Dragon Slayer carries Lucy in his arms. "RUN EVERYBODY!" Natsu yelled at his fellow comrades.

"GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!" Lucy added.

Charle is carrying Wendy with her tail around her body. Carl wraps his arms around Wendy's body, hanging on tightly. Mirajane is carrying both Elfman and Lisanna in her arms while she is in her demonic form. Jellal and Erza are both running down the streets, panting heavily.

"FALL BACK!" Doranbolt yelled to his unit as he and Lahar run down the streets. Juvia was running as fast as she can but she accidentally trips over a rock.

Gray turns around and sees that Juvia has fallen. "Juvia!" He shouted as he runs back to her and carries her in his arms.

"Gray-sama?" Juvia said, blushing.

"Let's go!" Gray yelled as he turns around and continues to run for his life.

"Go, go, go!" Ultear shouted to the others as she and Meredy run for their lives.

Meanwhile, at the Royal Palace, Cornelia smiles evilly as she watches the Damocles cannon ready to fire at the people down the streets.

"Keep those deaths coming." Cornelia licks her lips. "I really do appreciate it."

Eventually, the cannon finished charging up and fired a huge laser beam at the capital. When the beam hits the capital, an entire building was destroyed in one blow. The laser beam slowly makes its way through the capital, destroying an entire row of buildings in the process.

Several Alahornian civilians who are caught in the destruction scream as they ran for their lives.

"Is this King Lowell's doing?!" One male civilian yelled.

"Why?! Why would our own King do this to us?!" One woman cried in despair.

"Let's go out of here!" One civilian shouted but as he was about to step out of the building he was in, the laser hits it and he was incinerated in the blast.

Juvia turns her head to the blast and watched the laser beam destroying the capital in a distance. A frown appears on Juvia's face. "This…this is just like Kalafina…" She said as she now reminisce the memories of her family and how they were killed by King Lucas's demonic blast.

"No…" Juvia sobbed onto Gray's chest and the Ice mage looks down at her. Gray hangs onto Juvia tightly.

"Hang on Juvia, we're getting out of here!" Gray said.

As Happy flies through the sky, the exceed, Natsu and Lucy turns to the laser beam which is behind them.

"The Alahorn army is insane! They are destroying their own capital!" Natsu yelled angrily.

Lucy looks up at Happy and yelled at him, "Happy, fly faster!"

"Aye!" Happy nods his head and flew faster through the air.

The laser beam slices through an entire row of buildings and they all collapse into rubble and debris. The surrounding Temzan soldiers unfortunate got caught by the falling debris.

Marie looks up and gasped as the city's clock tower gets hit by the laser beam and it is collapsing above her!

"NOOO!" Marie screamed in horror. Allelujah turns around and sees his wife below the collapsing tower!

"MARIE!" He shouted as he runs towards his wife. He wraps his arms around her and they both fall to the ground, just as the debris collapses on top of them.

Meanwhile, Judith and the Krityans continue running down the street. Judith's horse was killed earlier in battle so she is now running down the street with her feet. However, because she lost so much energy during the battle, Judith ran out of breath and collapses to the ground.

Daniel, who is running on his horse, turns around and yelled, "JUDITH!" He rides over to his leader. He dismounts from his horse and quickly picks her up.

"Judith! We have to keep running!" Daniel yelled.

Judith looks up at Daniel with a tired expression. "Daniel…"

Daniel grits his teeth, carries her up with his arms and places her on his horse. "Judith, please! You have to live on! You must continue to lead our people!"

"Daniel?" Judith said, realizing what Daniel is trying to do.

Daniel smiles at her one last time before slapping his horse's rear. "GO!" The horse neighs and gallops away with Judith lying on its back.

Judith widens her eyes as Daniel slowly disappears from her sight. "DANIEL!"

Daniel turns around and sees the laser beam approaching towards him. He closes his eyes and lowers his head. "It's been an honor fighting alongside you, Judith." When he gets caught in the beam, he incinerates in flames.

Tears formed in Judith's eyes. She lowers her head and wipes the tears off her body.

"Darren…please come here soon." Judith uttered.

A few seconds later, the cannon runs out of power and deactivates. At the battleship, the officers rose up from their seats and widen their eyes in awe at the destruction caused by the cannon. There was now a huge trail of damage and destruction on the capital. Buildings are either completely destroyed or engulfed in flames.

"The cannon…is a success." One officer said. "And the enemy forces…are scattered."

"Excellent." Guradana smirked. "Send out our remaining forces. Find them and kill them all before we fire our second blast."

* * *

><p>Back at Spinoza's mansion, Takuto looks at the timer and sees that there are only twenty seconds left and Darren's pulse is fading.<p>

"This is it! I'm releasing him!" Takuto yelled and he quickly deactivates the cell. The cell doors open and both Wako and Yuri's mother quickly pull Darren out of his cell. They both place Darren on the floor and sees that his skin and lips are completely pale. Takuto quickly goes over to him and places his hands on Darren's chest.

"Don't die on us, Darren!" Takuto yelled as his hands glow brightly. Within a few seconds, Darren's skin and lips regain their color. Darren's pulse is quickly going back to normal. He snaps his eyes open and let out a gasp as he wakes up.

Takuto sat down on the ground and let out a laugh. "Damn fool. We almost lost you." He said jokingly.

Darren rose up from the floor as Lihua goes over to him. "Darren, you're back!" She smiled happily.

"How did it go? Did you managed to do what you had to do?" Wako asked.

Darren turns to Takuto, Wako and Yuri's mother and nods his head. He said solemnly, "Let's go to Alahorn. _Now_."

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: Oh boy, things are not going well for our heroes. Hopefully Darren can help turn the tide. Stay tune and read and review!**

**NOTE: Yes, I know Charle's official name is now Carla in the manga. But I'm still using the name Charle for now because I'm at the 31st chapter now. There's no way I can go back and change it. :(**


	33. Turning the Tide

**Sovereign: Here's the next chapter everyone! Enjoy! :D**

_**Chapter 32: Turning the Tide**_

Happy and Carla fly Natsu, Lucy, Wendy and Carl over to the grassy field outside the capital where the remaining forces are hiding. Thankfully, every single Fairy Tail member, Jellal, Ultear, Meredy, Yuri, Estelle, Sodia, Tsuna, Flynn, Doranbolt and Lahar are all still alive. Unfortunately, they have lost a huge number of Temzan soldiers, Krityan warriors and Rune Knights.

Just then, the horse arrived with Judith on its back.

"Somebody, help her!" Mirajane said. Elfman and Laxus quickly go over to Judith and carry her. The two then gently place her on the ground while Wendy goes over to heal her.

"You okay Judith?" Wendy asked in worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Thanks to you." Judith said, recovering from her exhaustion.

"Where's Allelujah and Marie?" Lucy asked, looking around to find them but they are nowhere in sight.

"We couldn't find them anywhere." One of the surviving Temzan soldiers replied.

Lucy lowers her head and said worriedly, "Hope they're alright."

Natsu goes over to Lucy and places his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay Lucy. I'm sure they are." Lucy smiled at him.

"Natsu." Lisanna said as she goes over to the Fire Dragon Slayer. "So you've decided to go with Lucy instead of me?"

Natsu sighed and said to Lisanna, "Yes Lisanna, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." Lucy said sadly. She closes her eyes, expecting a hoarse response from Lisanna.

But instead, Lisanna perks up and said, "It's alright." Natsu and Lucy both look up at her in surprise. "I'm happy for the two for you and I won't force you to choose, Natsu."

Natsu and Lucy both smile happily. "Thank you." Lucy said to Lisanna. Lisanna nods her head and the two gave each other an embrace.

After Judith fully recovers, she stood up and sees that many of the surviving Krityans, Temzan soldiers and Rune Knights lying on the ground with serious injuries. Mirajane, Elfman and Wendy are going around to each and every injured soldier to attend their injuries.

"Get a hold of yourself together. Stay strong because you are a man!" Elfman said to an injured Krityan with encouragement as he applies a bandage around his head.

"Hang on, I'll heal you." Wendy said as she uses her Sky Magic to heal an injured Rune Knight. After healing her, she wipes off the sweat from her head.

"Wendy, don't overdo it." Mirajane said to her, noticing that the Sky Dragon Slayer is becoming exhausted.

"I know, Mirajane." Wendy replied.

Judith frowned deeply and lowers her head sadly. She unsuccessfully tries to fight back her tears. "Is this our fate? Will Temza finally be overwhelmed by the Alahorn Empire? Will my people finally face extinction?" She fell to her knees, sobbed and broke into tears. "I…I failed…as the leader of the Krityans. The Spirit of the Moon isn't within me."

Everybody near her watch Judith with a mixture of sorrow and pity. Erza goes over to her and kneels down to her.

"Judith…LISTEN TO ME!" Erza yelled, getting Judith's attention. The Krityan stops her crying and looks up at Erza in shock. Erza glared at Judith. "Judith, please! Don't give up hope! We haven't lost the fight yet! Our numbers may have dwindled but the battle isn't lost yet!" She then lets out a sigh, calming herself down. "And you think you're the only one who has lost hope once in his or her life? I lost hope too when Jellal was arrested by the Magic Council. I thought I may never see my closest friend again…but I did."

Jellal smiles as Erza said that.

"I lost hope too when my father passed away." Lucy said to Judith and the Krityan now turns her head to her. "But I knew I'm not going to cry over his death for the rest of my life. I soon found inner strength and I know I have to keep moving forward. I still have my friends, my guild…" She turns to Natsu and smiles at him. "And Natsu."

Natsu smiles back as he scratches the back of his head. He walks over to Judith and said to her, "Yeah! Don't give up Judith! As long as we're still alive, we will continue fighting!"

"Aye!" Happy added as he appears behind Natsu.

Judith turns her head to the male Krityans, who all smile and nod their heads.

"Don't give up, Judith!" One Krityan said.

"We still believe in the Spirit of the Moon…and you!" Another Krityan said.

"Never lose faith, leader!" Another one yelled.

All the Krityans then pump their fists into the air as they chant, "Judith! Judith! Judith! Judith!"

As Judith watched, a smile slowly appears on her face. She wipes away her tears and grabs her spear. She stood up and raises her spear into the air. "Yes! We will continue fighting!" The Krityans cheered in response.

Yuri and Estelle both smiled as they watched this.

"I must never lose my faith too." Estelle said. Yuri then takes Estelle's hand.

"Yeah, we mustn't." He added.

"Everyone! They're coming!" Doranbolt yelled to everyone. Everyone gasped as they turn back to the capital and see the remaining Alahornian soldiers and Guradana's battleship approaching towards them.

"Come everybody! We will never surrender! We will fight till the end!" Judith yelled. Everybody got back into their battle stances.

"Master, are you ready?" Erza asked Makarov as she draws out her spear.

"Am I ever not ready, Erza?" Makarov replied. "I don't care if there're ten thousand of them. I just want them to bring me what they got." Erza smirked. Jellal then goes over to her side.

"Get ready, Erza." Jellal said as he watched the Alahornian army approaching. Erza nods her head.

* * *

><p>Guradana, Alexei and Aizen all smile in delight as they look down at the remaining Temzan forces from their battleship.<p>

"Commandant, there are only 1,200 of them left." An officer said to Guradana from behind.

"And has the Damocles finish charging?" Guradana asked.

"80% charged."

"Ah well, send out all of 7,988 remaining soldiers to take them all out and our job here is done."

"Yes sir!"

A huge malicious smirk appears on Guradana's face. "Farewell, Temzan cockroaches." He said.

"SIR!"

Guradana narrows his eyes furiously. "What's the interruption for?!" He yelled as he turns around to his intelligence officers.

"Sir, an unidentified object has appeared!"

* * *

><p>Everyone on the ground looks up and see what seems like a huge beam of red light coming down from the night sky. "What is that?" Gajeel yelled.<p>

"A meteorite?" Macao said.

Natsu takes a closer look, then widens his eyes. "No…it's…"

The red light then landed on the ground and in the middle of the battlefield. When the smoke is cleared, the figure reveals himself. Judith gasped and smiles happily.

"IT'S DARREN!" Judith cried. Darren puts away his demonic wings and rises up from the ground. He looks upon the approaching Alahornian army with his golden demonic eyes.

The entire Alahornian army stop and hesitate upon seeing Darren. "It's him!" A soldier yelled.

"The Demon Prince!" Another one yelled.

"Is that…the Demon Prince?!" Makarov said, widening his eyes.

"Yes, but don't worry master! He's an ally!" Erza said to Makarov smiling.

"Ally?" Makarov arches an eyebrow.

"Yes sir." Jellal said, nodding his head. Mirajane. Juvia and Gray who are near them nod their heads as well. Makarov glared at Erza.

"Erza, you got a lot of explaining to do." He said to her. Erza chuckled in response.

"It's the Demon Prince, the dangerous man on Earthland!" Doranboly yelled angrily as he and Lahar charge towards Darren but Wendy quickly stood in front of them and spread out her arms.

"No don't!" Wendy yelled.

"Wendy…" Doranbolt uttered as he and Lahar stopped.

"Doranbolt listen! He's not a bad person! He's helping us!" Wendy said. Doranbolt frowned for a moment, before standing down.

"I hope you are right, Wendy." He said to her.

Darren grabs the hilt of his katana, causing the Alahornian army to immediately back away and hold up their weapons in caution. Darren then draws out his katana, ready to do battle.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the battleship, Guradana, Alexei, Aizen and all the intelligence officers all look shocked and dumbfounded upon seeing the Demon Prince.<p>

"It-it-it's…the Demon Prince!" Aizen gasped in horror. Guradana looks shocked for a moment, but then his look of shock slowly distorts into an evil grin.

"No matter. Our army is 7,988 men strong and he's only one!" Guradana said. He holds up his microphone. "UNITS 7, 8 AND 9! SURROUND AND ATTACK THE DEMON PRINCE!"

* * *

><p>Immediately, 2,000 Alahornian soldiers charge towards Darren. Darren however stood where he is as the Alahornians surround him in a huge circle. They aim their swords and lances at him.<p>

"Prepare to meet your demise, Demon Prince!" An Alahornian captain yelled.

"Darren!" Judith cried.

"Damn those bastards!" Natsu growled as he is about to charge towards the Alahorn army but suddenly, Takuto and Wako show up, riding on a horse.

"Don't worry Natsu!" Wako said as the couple ride over to them. Natsu turns to the two in confusion.

"Darren's got a plan." Takuto smirks and winks an eye. "A _big_ plan."

Judith watched as the Alahornians still surround Darren and the Demon Prince stays where he is.

"Darren…" She uttered.

Darren turns his head around and sees that he's completely surrounded. The swordsmen and lancers are ready to attack at any moment.

'You ready Darren?' CC asked.

Darren smirked. **"Always."** He then holds up his katana and yelled into the sky. **"TEMZAN ARMY! RISE UP AND TAKE YOUR REVENGE!"**

Then, there was silence for a few seconds. The Alahornians look at each other in confusion.

"What Temzan army?" An Alahornian asked.

"Has the Demon Prince lost his mind?" Another one said.

"Who cares? He's open! ATTACK!" Everybody let out yells as they charge toward Darren, ready to finish him off, but when they are near him, two spiritual figures suddenly appear alongside Darren. One figure holds up her revolvers and fire several bullets rapidly, immediately killing half of the Alahornians. The other figure uses his spear and swings it around, slashing and killing the other half of the Alahornians.

"Wha…what just happened?" Carl watched in awe.

The figure with revolvers lifts her head up, revealing her face. "Noel Vermillion, reporting for duty."

The figure with his spear lifts up his head as well. "Suzaku Kururugi, reporting for duty."

Everybody on the battlefield watch in awe as seven thousand more spirits appear behind Darren. Over five thousand of them were dressed in Temzan uniforms and armed with swords, spears, bows and arrows or staffs. The remaining two thousand are made up of Krityan warriors with spears and Temzan civilians.

"Temzan uniforms?" Erza uttered.

"They are…" Yuri said out in awe. Estelle gasped.

"The Temzan army! All who lost their lives during the destruction of Kalafina!" Estelle cried.

"They have return from the dead!" Judith added. Darren closes his eyes and his clothing magically turns into his former Templar armor and cape.

* * *

><p>Guradana drops his jaw dumbfounded. He also drops his microphone in the process. "It…it's…the Temzan army! But how?!"<p>

* * *

><p>Darren turns around and the entire army bowed to him. "Give us the command sir!" Cecile Croomy yelled as she readies her rifle.<p>

Darren nods his head, turns around and holds up his katana. "ATTACK!"

The entire army look up at the capital of Alahorn and yelled as they hold up their weapons as well and charge pass Darren and towards the capital.

Darren turns to Noel and Suzaku. "Come my friends! Let's go!" Noel and Suzaku smile and nod their heads and the three Templars charge towards the capital as well.

The Alahornians froze in shock until a Captain yelled, "Don't just stand there! ATTACK!" Everyone then draw out their swords and lances and charge towards the Temzan army.

An Alahornian soldier runs over to a Krityan and thrusts his sword at him and stabs him in the chest. "Die Krityan scum!" the Alahornian, smiling triumphantly. But then, his smile disappeared when the Krityan is still standing. The Krityan smirks at him before thrusting his spear at the soldier's head, killing him.

"What?! Why can't we kill them?!" One Alahornian yelled as he swings his sword at a group of Temzan civilians who are walking towards him but they all wouldn't die. One civilian then draws out a pitch fork and stabs the soldier in his chest

"They're…they're already dead!" One Alahornian yelled as he backs away before he gets killed by a bullet through the head from Noel.

"Yes, you are right." Noel said.

Back at the field, Fairy Tail, the Rune Knights, the Temzan army and the Krityans watch in awe as Darren and his invincible army overwhelmed the Alahorn army.

"This…is amazing." Lucy said in awe. Judith smiles as she watched.

"Thank you, Darren." She said.

"Fall back! FALL BACK!" One Alahornian soldier yelled as he and his unit drop their swords and cowardly run away into the capital. However, the Temzans stampede over them and charge into the capital.

Meanwhile, Allelujah is helping Marie to get out of the debris. Both of them thankfully survived the collapse. Just then, a group of Alahornian soldiers appear behind Allelujah.

"Freeze and surrender, Temzan scums!" The captain of the group yelled at the both of them.

"Who are you calling scum?!"

Allelujah widens his eyes. "That voice…" He said.

Then, Suzaku and Euphemia both appear in front of the Alahornians and Suzaku takes out most of them with his spear. Euphemia uses a broomstick and takes two soldiers. The captain yells as he runs over to Euphemia with his sword.

"Euphy! Look out!" Allelujah shouted in horror. The captain swings his sword at Euphemia but the sword goes through her. The captain, Allelujah and Marie look shocked at this.

"What?" The captain said. Euphemia giggled before she takes the captain out with her broomstick.

"What's going on?" Marie said.

"It's a long story." Darren said as he and Noel show up. Darren extends a hand at Allelujah and said to him, "Shall we fight together, like the good old days?" He smiled at him.

Allelujah turns to Noel and Suzaku who both smile at him as well. He turns back to Darren and a grin appears on his face. "Yeah, like the good old days." He takes Darren's hand.

"There they are! Get them!" Several Alahornians appear and surround, Darren, Allelujah, Noel, Suzaku, Euphemia and Marie. Marie gave Allelujah his bow and arrows.

"Kick their asses." Marie said to Allelujah with a smirk.

"Got it." Allelujah replied.

"Move out!" Darren yelled and the four templars charge in separate directions. Darren goes over to a group of Alahornians and let loose of a series of attacks with his katana, mowing through several soldiers.

Suzaku jumps over to an Alahornian and stabs him in the chest as he lands. Suzaku then turns to the other soldiers and swings his spear horizontally, killing ten soldiers in one swing.

Noel slowly spins around in a circle as she fires her revolvers at all the Alahornians surrounding her, killing them all.

Allelujah fires several arrows with his bow within a few seconds, killing several Alahornian soldiers by shooting at them through the head.

"Your husband is amazing." Euphemia said to Marie as the two women watched. Marie chuckled.

"So is your boyfriend." She said.

"You mean husband. Suzaku and I both got married in the afterlife!" Euphemia smiled.

"So there's still romance in the afterlife? Interesting." Marie said and the two women simply laughed.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the capital, Cecile is shooting her rifle at several Alahornian soldiers. The civilians continue to overwhelm the lancers and their horses despite most of them not having weapons. The Temzan soldiers and Krityans fight and mow through the soldiers with their spears with no problem at all.

As they fight, Judith, Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Juvia, Jellal, Mirajane, Wendy, Yuri, Estelle, Flynn, Carl and Takuto charge through the capital as well.

"Yo guys! Don't forget us!" Natsu yelled as his fists burst into flames. He goes over to a group of Alahornians and punches them in their faces.

Takuto, who has drawn out his Star Swords, charge over to group of Alahornians and slashes through them with no problem. "Alright! I didn't miss out all the fun after all!" He smirked.

Erza, Yuri, Estelle and Flynn stick together and fight the Alahornians with their swords. Lucy swings her whip and took out two soldiers. Jellal creates a huge dark sphere and traps several soldiers inside it. Carl goes over to a soldier, jumps in the air and kicks him across his face. Wendy and Mirajane both use their Sky Dragon's Roar and Soul Extinction at a huge group of soldiers.

Judith stabs an Alahornian in the chest.

"You fought well my daughter."

Judith gasped and turns her head to see her father, smiling at her. She gasped in awe. "Father…" She uttered.

Her father smiles and nods his head. "You really have grown up a lot." He said before turning around to see an Alahornian running towards him, only to get stab in the chest by Judith's father's spear.

"Mom! Dad! Grandpa!" Estelle cried happily as she goes over to King Lucas, Prince Eric and Princess Genevieve who are all armed with swords.

Her family turns to Estelle and smile. "Estellise, it really is good to see you again." Princess Genevieve said.

"You really have grown beautiful." Prince Eric said.

"Now then, let's teach this Alahornians a lesson for destroying our home!" King Lucas yelled as he raises his sword and charge towards the Alahornians. Eric and Genevieve both follow behind him. Lucas swings his sword furiously at his enemies and took them all down in one swing. Eric and Genevieve are also doing a good job in fighting against the Alahornians.

Meanwhile, Juvia creates a huge wave of water. As she does so, Gray jumps over and freezes the wave, turning it into a slide made of ice. Gray slides down the ice slide and holds up his Ice Cannon, shooting several ice balls at the soldiers.

Juvia then uses her water slicer to take out several soldiers in front of her. She turns her head to see three more Alahornians approaching here but suddenly, a man with blue hair, dressed in a Temzan uniform runs over to them and takes them out by swinging sword.

Juvia widens her eyes, recognizing the soldier. "Nii-sama?"

Juvia's brother turns to his sister and smiled, "Hey Juvia, I told you I will join the army one day!" With that, her brother runs off to fight some more. Juvia smiled as she watched him leave.

"Nii-sama…" She uttered as tears of joy form in her eyes.

Just then, the battleship flies above the capital and the mages who are still on top cast and fire their magic spells in all directions.

"Shoot! Shoot everywhere!" One mage yelled. "They're ghosts! Ghosts from hell! HELL IS EVERYWHERE!"

Suddenly, a figure jumps over to the battleship and lands in front of the mages. The mages gasp as the figure pushes away her cape, revealing herself to be Tsubaki Yayoi.

"I'm ready to fight for my country…" Tsubaki said as she draws out her red sword. "And my friends!" Tsubaki charges towards the mages. The mages try to shoot back but Tsubaki quickly slashes them as she runs pass them.

* * *

><p>Guradana just froze in horror as he watched his army depleting rapidly. "COMMANDANT! SOUND THE RETREAT!" Alexei yelled at him.<p>

"THE BATTLE IS LOST! WE HAVE LOST!" Aizen added.

Guradana snaps back into reality and turns to them. "WHAT?! DON'T SCREW WITH ME! WE HAVE NOT LOSE YET!" He turns to the intelligence officers. "FIRE THE DAMOCLES!"

"But sir! It's not done charging yet!" An officer yelled.

"JUST FIRE! WIPE OUT THESE TEMZAN MONKEYS!" Guradana shouted, losing total control of himself.

* * *

><p>"Hmph?" Tsubaki looks up as she watched the Damocles cannon charging up and preparing to fire. "So, they wish to fire huh? Not on my watch." Tsubaki charges over to the cannon and climbs on top of it. When she's above it, she turns her sword upside down. "White feathers of innocence…" A pair of white angelic wings appears on Tsubaki's back. "I am a messenger of God and I shall bring Justice to all!" Her sword magically turns into a white holy spear. Tsubaki narrows her eyes as she holds up her spear and aims at the cannon. "Let Justice be done! REQUIEM AETERNAM!" With that, she stabs the spear through the cannon, destroying it. The cannon suddenly goes haywire and within a few seconds, it exploded.<p>

Back at the bridge, all the officers panicked as their computers explode right in front of them, killing some of them. The others are coughing heavily due to the thick smoke.

"SIR! WE MUST ABANDON SHIP! NOW!" Alexei yelled.

Meanwhile, back below, Noel shot several bullets at the bottom of the battleship. When the bullets hit the bottom, it causes heavy damage to the ship's engines, causing it to head straight to the ground.

"SIR! THE ENGINES ARE DAMAGED! WE'RE FALLING!" One officer yelled before the ground below him explodes, killing him. Guradana however still stood in horror, still can't believe that this is happening right now.

"SIR! ARE YOU DEAF?! WE HAVE TO LEAVE, NOW!" Aizen shouted in panic.

Suddenly, back below, Darren walks over to Noel. The two nod their heads to each other before Darren turns to the ship, transforms his right arm into a demonic arm and aims at the ship.

"**DEMONIC BLAST!"** He yelled before firing a blast at the front of the ship. The blast not only damages the front of the ship but also breaks the glass window, causing Alexei and Aizen to fall out of the battleship and the two scream as they plummet to their deaths. Guradana managed to hang onto the ledge of the ship, hanging for his dear life.

Eventually, the ship crashed onto the capital and exploded.

But somehow, Guradana miraculously survives the explosion and he coughs heavily as he crawls out of the debris.

"I…I have to get out of here!" Guradana said panicking as he crawls through the ground. However, when he looks up, he gasped in horror as he sees a huge group of Krityan warriors armed with spears approaching towards him.

"You will pay Alahornian, for destroying our home!" One Krityan yelled.

"Please! Get away from me!" Guradana cried as he turns to his right and tries to crawl away but suddenly, a blast of energy goes over to him and it explodes in front of him, sending him stumbling back. As Guradana groans in pain and looks up, he gasped as he sees Yuri Lowell, standing in the distance, holding up his blastia bracelet.

"Yu-Yu-Yuri Lowell?!" Guradana said, his eyes wide. Yuri gave a cold glare and an ugly scowl at Guradana.

"For attempting to kill the Prince of Alahorn and destroying your own country, I sentenced you to death." Yuri said icily. "Farewell, Guradana." As he finished, Yuri turns around and walks away in silence.

"Pr-pr-pr-Prince! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for what I;ve done! Please forgive me!" Guradana begged as he reaches out his hand. But Yuri ignored him and kept on walking. The Krityans then grabbed Guradana by his arms and legs and carry him up.

"YURI LOWELL! PLEASE SAVE ME! I'M SORRY FOR WHAT I'VE DONE! PLEASE! DON'T GO! COMMANDANT! COMMANDAAAAAAANNNNNNTTTTT!" Guradana bellowed. Suddenly, his eyes bulged open as the Krityans stab their spears through his back and sticking out from his chest.

Guradana coughs out huge amounts of blood as his life slowly drifts away. "It's…it's not fair…" He managed to say out. "All I wanted…was to prove myself…that I'm worthy…Am I really…going to die like this? Dying horribly…as a failure?!"

Guradana's eyes rolled back as he let out one final gasp and say out one last word before he finally meets his maker. "God…"

* * *

><p>The battle is over and every single Alahornian has been defeated. The streets of the capital are filled with dead Alahornians lying around in pools of their own blood.<p>

Tsubaki, Cecile, King Lucas, Prince Eric, Princess Genevieve, Noel, Suzaku, Euphemia, the Temzan army, the Temzan civilians and the Krityans all stood in front of Darren, still in his Templar robes. Darren bowed before them.

"You all fought bravely. If it weren't for your help, we would have never win this battle and my friends could have died. Thank you." Darren said.

Noel then walks over to Darren and places a hand on his cheek. Darren looks up and sees a smile on Noel's face.

"No Darren. Thank _you_." Noel said. "For everything you have done for us."

Suzaku, Euphemia, Tsubaki, Cecile and the royal family nod their heads in agreement. Darren smiled back as Noel proceeds to hug him.

"Keep on living Darren." Tsubaki smiled at him.

"Do it for us." Suzaku added. Darren nods his head. Noel looks up at him and smiled one last time before they all fade away and return back to the afterlife.

Darren then turns around and sees Judith, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Mirajane, Juvia, Happy, Carla, Jellal, Takuto, Wako, Estelle, Yuri, Flynn, Carl, Allelujah, Marie and Lihua standing before him.

"Darren…" Judith uttered with a smile.

Darren's Templar robes then magically disappears and he's back to wearing his black jacket and blue jeans.

"Hey guys, sorry that I'm late." Darren said, smiling sheepishly. Everybody then laughs in joy as they go over to Darren and surround him.

"You did good Darren!" Lucy said to him.

"That was amazing!" Natsu said, giving Darren a soft friendly punch to his left arm.

"Darren, what exactly did you do?" Estelle asked Darren.

Darren explained, "I went to the afterlife and made a deal with the soul keeper. The soul keeper tells me that I can borrow the entire Temzan army but in return, I have to give her something back."

"And what's that?" Gray asked.

"The soul of the person who caused the destruction of Temza." Darren narrows his eyes as he turns around and faces the Alahorn royal palace. "The Crimson Duchess…"

"She's in my palace?" Yuri asked as everybody look up at the royal palace.

"That's right. You said that two alchemists were working for your father right?" Darren asked.

"Yes. One is Relius and…" Yuri widens his eyes. "You mean-"

Darren nods his head. "Cornelia _is _the Crimson Duchess." He turns around and said to everyone, "Everybody, we have to go inside the palace and stop Cornelia before all of Earthland is lost. Who's with me?"

Everybody nod their heads solemnly. "We will fight til the end." Judith said.

"We, Fairy Tail, and all of us have your back Darren." Erza said.

Darren turns back to the palace. "Then let's go."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at the palace, a messenger rushes into the king's throne room and runs over to King Lowell and Cornelia. The messenger kneels down before them and pants heavily.<p>

"What's the battle report?" King Lowell asked, sitting at his throne.

"All 10,000 Alahornian soldiers, including Commandant Guradana…" The messenger looks up at the King in despair. "_Dead_."

The King gasped and widens his eyes in horror.

"Oh my, that sure is unpleasant news." Cornelia said as she adjusts her glasses.

"Cornelia…" The King said in distress, turning to Cornelia. "Without my army…I cannot rule the world anymore!"

Cornelia smiles at the King and said, "Don't worry King. Your battle isn't over yet. What if I tell you that I have good news?"

The King widens his eyes. "Good…news?"

"Yes." Cornelia smirked evilly. "I'm finally ready to give you your…_immortality_."

The King let out a gasp, and then let out an awkward laugh. "At last…at long last!"

"Yes your Highness." Cornelia said, stroking her hair. "_At long last_."

**END OF CHAPTER**


	34. Be Prepared

**Sovereign: Wow, it's been two weeks since the last update. Time sure fly by really fast. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**I would like to thank KanaeHitomi, GoldenRoseTanya, Lightmoon54, sereneskydragonslayer and splitheart1120 for reviewing!**

_**Chapter 33: Be Prepared**_

A royal messenger enters the basement of the palace and says to the remaining Alahorn soldiers guarding the room.

"This order just came in from the King. Release all test subjects." The messenger said to the soldiers. A soldier nods his head before activating the control panel. All the chambers open up and immediately, all the soldiers and the messenger rush out of the room.

The husks step out of their chambers and all let out agonizing screams.

* * *

><p>King Lowell smiles as he sat on his throne with his left arm and left leg now attached with tubes and plugs to a machine. Cornelia walks over to Lowell.<p>

"How long will the process take?" Lowell asked Cornelia.

"Don't worry. It will only take a few minutes." Cornelia said.

"Excellent. Once I gain my immortality, I can live long enough to conquer all of Earthland. They can try to kill me all the want, but I will never die." Lowell said smirking.

"Now…keep your eyes closed as I do the procedures." Cornelia smiled. Lowell obliged and closes his eyes. While he isn't seeing, a smirk appears on Cornelia's face as she extends her hand out and reaches for the King's chest. Her hand starts glowing when it's closed to his chest.

"Yes…I can feel it…" The King uttered.

* * *

><p>Darren, Judith, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Juvia, Mirajane, Wendy, Takuto, Allelujah, Marie, Estelle, Yuri, Flynn, Carl and Jellal walk over to the stairway leading to the palace. Wako, Happy, Carla and Lihua stayed behind the huge gates as they watched the group approach the palace.<p>

"I never thought I would come back here." Yuri said as he approaches towards his home.

"Halt." Natsu said. Everybody immediately stop. "There's someone on top of the stairways."

"Show yourself!" Erza yelled. Then, a woman appears and walks down the stairway. Darren, Judith, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Juvia, Mirajane, Wendy and Takuto gasped.

"Flare Corona, right?" Lucy said as they get into their battle stances.

"Yes." Flare nods her head. "And please, lower your weapons. I will not fight you."

Everybody hesitate for a moment, but eventually agree and lower their defenses.

"Why won't you fight us?" Natsu asked Flare.

"Because I will not work for Cornelia anymore." Flare said sadly. "If Cornelia's ultimate plan succeeds, I will die too. I wish to keep living. I will not associate myself with a woman who wants to destroy all life on Earthland."

Lucy immediately felt some sympathy and pity for Flare. She then spoke up, "Then leave here Flare and let us fight Cornelia so that we can save everyone."

Flare walks over to Lucy and said to her, "I'm sorry that I tried to kill you. Promise that you and your friends will stop Cornelia."

Lucy smiled and said to her, "Yes. We will." Everybody watched as Flare makes her leave.

"Right. Shall we continue heading into the palace?" Darren asked everyone.

"Let's go." Lucy said to him with a determined smile.

* * *

><p>Natsu and Gray push open the doors and everyone enters the foyer. It's dark and quiet with no one in sight.<p>

"It's quiet here." Flynn said.

"Yeah, I got a bad feeling about this." Estelle added.

"Follow me guys. I'll lead you all to my father's throne room." Yuri said. Just as everybody is ready to go up the stairs, they all heard agonizing screams.

Everybody turn to the side and see several husks staggering towards them.

"Damn! Cornelia and the King know we are coming!" Jellal said. Allelujah, Marie and Flynn step forward and take out their weapons.

Flynn turns his head to the others. "Everybody! We will hold these things off for you. If all of us fight against these things, you will only lose valuable time to stop Cornelia's plans."

"Right. Thanks guys." Darren said.

Allelujah turns to Darren and said to him with a smile, "Stop the Duchess. Do it for Temza and our fallen friends."

Darren nods his head. "Yes my friend. I will." He said.

"Let's go!" Marie yelled before she, Flynn and Allelujah charge towards the husks.

"Come on, we haven't got time to lose!" Erza said to the others.

"This way guys!" Yuri said before he runs over to the stairs which lead to the upper floor. Everybody follow him from behind.

* * *

><p>Darren and Natsu both kick the doors open and everybody enters the throne room with their weapons.<p>

"Father! You and I have a word with each other!" Yuri shouted angrily.

Everybody look around the throne room. The room was empty. The only things they could see was the King's throne and for some reason, it's covered with a blanket.

"What is that over there?" Mirajane asked, seeing the blanket on the King's throne.

Everybody cautiously walk over to the throne and hold their weapons tightly, ready to fight.

When they are near the throne, they see that the blanket is covering something behind it.

"It could be a trap behind that blanket." Gray said. Darren nods his head before walking over to the blanket. He grabs hold of it and slowly removes the blanket. Everybody gasped and widen their eyes in horror upon finding out what was behind the blanket.

It was a rotten corpse of King Lowell. His skin has lost its color and rot away. The corpse is extremely thin, his bones clearly visible through his skin.

"Father!" Yuri shouted, his eyes shaking in horror.

"Oh goodness…" Mirajane backs away, covering her mouth with her eyes wide.

"The King…is already dead…" Erza uttered.

"You see people? This is why I _love_ playing with humans."

Everybody turn their heads to the side and see Cornelia standing in the distance. She is smiling widely as she looks at the orb that is floating above her left hand.

"They would do anything, even the stupidest things, to get what they truly desire. Even by forfeiting their own lives." Cornelia crashes the orb with her hand and absorbs its energy. The life of the former King Lowell is now flowing through her veins.

Everybody watched as Cornelia lifts her head up and lets out an evil cackle.

"Muahahahahahaha! AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

**END OF CHAPTER**


	35. The Final Fight Part 1

**Sovereign: Well guys, after a week of personal problems, I'm back on track. Sorry if you waited really long for this chapter. I would like to thank KanaeHitomi, sereneskydragonslayer, splitheart1120, Lightmoon54 and GoldenRoseTanya for reviewing! Thanks guys!**

_**Chapter 34: The Final Fight Part 1**_

Darren grits his teeth angrily as he tightens the grip around his katana. Cornelia lowers her head, notices this and smirked. "Awww, did I make you angry Darren? By the way, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah. I never forget that day, Duchess. The day you made me kill Suzaku and Euphy." Darren growled.

"Oh?" Cornelia said as she places her hands on her hips. "It's been ten years now. I thought you would have gotten over it by now."

Darren was about to step forward, but Erza reaches out her hand and stops him. "Why did you take the King's soul for?" Erza asked.

"How could you Cornelia?! My father trusted you!" Yuri yelled.

"Pffft…your father was a fool. He said that he wanted immortality. But the truth, there _never _was a spell that can give living human beings immortality." Cornelia shrugged. "And why did I take his soul, you asked?" An evil grin appears on her face. "Because his soul is needed for the revival of Rarchluka, just like the souls of the fallen that I've gathered for the past seven years!"

"Rarchluka?" Lucy asked.

"I've heard of him!" Jellal said. "According to legend, Rarchluka was a large and powerful Wyvern who tried to destroy all of Earthland."

"Wyvern?" Natsu asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes." Jellal nods his head. "Long ago, two creatures try to fight over Earthland. The Dragons and the Wyverns. The two creatures fought each other deciding who will rule all of Earthland. Of course eventually, the Dragons won and most of the Wyverns were defeated and reduce to lesser creatures. Rarchluka was their leader and refuse to accept defeat. He tried to fight the leader of the dragons head on. Eventually, Rarchluka was also defeated and his remains were buried in an unknown location."

"Yes, an unknown location." Cornelia adjusts her glasses. "But now, it is found." She gestures her finger downwards. Everybody gasped.

"Rarchluka was buried below this palace?!" Estelle said.

"Bingo!" Cornelia yelled, pointing her finger at Estelle. "You deserved an A plus." She then places her hands behind her back. "Anyways, after my plan at Kalafina failed because of a certain fore-eyed man, I spent three years thinking of a new way to destroy all of humanity, and that is by reviving Rarchluka. And in order to do that, I would require 6 million souls. And thanks to all the souls you guys have gathered for me during the battle earlier and now the soul of King Lowell, I only need _one _soul left."

"One soul?" Carl uttered.

"Yes." Cornelia smirked. "So, which one of you will kindly volunteer to help my plan reach fruition?"

Everybody narrow their eyes and ready their weapons. "You won't get away with this, Cornelia!" Judith said.

"It ends here! AND NOW!" Darren let out a yell as he charges towards Cornelia. He swings his katana vertically but Cornelia simply steps away from it. When Darren turns around, Cornelia jumps up and does a swinging kick across his face, knocking him to the floor.

Natsu and Gray are next. They both charge towards Cornelia together. Natsu lights up his fist with fire while Gray creates his Ice Cannon. Cornelia turns around and disappears.

"What?!" Natsu and Gray said, looking shocked that Cornelia has disappeared from their sight. Cornelia reappears behind them and grabs them by the back of their heads and knocks them out by slamming their heads at each other.

Erza yelled as she charges towards Cornelia. Her armor changes into her Armadura Fairy armor and her swords turn into Fairy Piercing Swords. Cornelia turns to Erza and smirks as she magically summons her two metal spears. Cornelia blocks Erza's swords and the two women stayed at a stalemate.

"So, you are the one nicknamed Titania." Cornelia said as her clothing magically changes into her silver metal armor with red robes, red cape and black gloves. "It would be great if I can require your soul."

Erza could feel her anger rising. She growled as her swords sparked with electricity. But Cornelia still stays at a stalemate. Then a grin appears on her face as she yelled, "DARK GRAVITY!"

Erza gasped as Cornelia's leg steps forward and steps at the area where the Titania is standing , the floor below Erza crumbles and the Titania screams as she finds herself plummeting through the air.

"ERZA!" Mirajane yelled as she transforms into her demonic form and flies over to Erza. Mirajane grabs Erza by her arms and flies back up.

"That was Dark Gravity." Erza said. "The same attack Zero uses, that's what Natsu told me during his fight with him." She gasped as she comes to a sudden realization. "Cornelia has consumed Brain's and Zero's soul and magic."

Meanwhile, Cornelia uses her magic force and tosses Juvia, Carl and Wendy away, slamming them to a wall.

"DARK RAY!" Jellal yelled as he points his hand at Cornelia and shoots a huge blast of purple energy at Cornelia. Cornelia quickly turns to the blast and stops it with her hand and forms it into a ball.

"WHAT?!" Jellal widens his eyes. Cornelia smiles at the ball for a moment, before shooting it back at Jellal. The blast hits him and sends Jellal sprawling through the ground. Cornelia then turns her head to the left and sees Takuto, Yuri, Judith and Estelle.

"Come! Together!" Takuto yelled as he, Yuri, Judith and Estelle charge towards her.

"Right!" Judith, Yuri and Estelle said together. Cornelia now turns to her right and sees Darren transforms his right arm into his demonic arm and charges at Cornelia as well.

Estelle jumps into the air and clasps her hands together. Her body is now shining white. "DIVINE JUDGMENT FOR EVIL SOULS!" She opens up her eyes and spread out her arms as a huge white cross appears behind her. "SACRED-ACK!"

Cornelia reaches out her hand and grabs Estelle's neck by her magic force. The cross behind Estelle immediately disappears and her body goes back to normal. Cornelia then tosses Estelle over to Takuto and Yuri and knocks them out.

Darren reaches out his demonic hand at Cornelia. "DEMONIC…"

Meanwhile, Judith jumps in the air and prepares to strike with her spear. "MOONLIGHT-"

"GENESIS ZERO!" Cornelia yelled as she aims both of her hands at Judith and Darren. Suddenly, her fingers shine green and thousands of dark phantoms charge towards Judith and Darren like tidal waves. The two gasped as they are overwhelmed by the countless phantoms.

"AHHHHH!" Judith screamed as her body is consumed by darkness. "DARREN!"

"JUDITH!" Darren screamed in horror as he reaches out his hand for her but his body too gets consumed by the countless dark phantoms.

"Darren! Judith!" Natsu yelled in horror. He charges towards Cornelia and tries to save them but the Duchess turns to him and aims her hand at Natsu as well. The phantoms also consumed Natsu and the Dragon Slayer screamed.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried. Cornelia sees Lucy and the girl gasped. She tries to run away but Cornelia shoots her Genesis Zero at her as well and Lucy's body is immediately consumed. Soon, the entire throne room is filled with dark phantoms and everybody present is consumed by them as well. To make things worse, the hole Cornelia created earlier creates a whirlpool which will suck anybody in the pool of phantoms to the bottom.

Mirajane tries to fly above it but a group of phantoms form a human tower high enough to grab Mirajane's leg. Mirajane screamed as her body goes back to her normal human self and gets consumed by the phantoms.

"NATSU! HELP ME!" Lucy screamed as she gets consumed.

"LUCY!" Natsu screamed as he reaches out his hand for her but he gets pull away by the waves of phantoms. "HANG ON! LUUUUUCCCYYY!"

"EVERYBODY! HANG ON!" Erza yelled. She swings her swords, desperately trying to fight back but there were too many dark phantoms and she slowly continues to sink.

"NOOO!" Jellal yelled as he, Wendy and Takuto helplessly watch themselves sink into the darkness and being pulled towards the whirlpool.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Wendy cried.

"Get…off of me…" Takuto struggled to say as he watched the phantoms pulling him.

"Hang on…Estelle…" Yuri said as the dark phantoms pull him into the darkness and the whirlpool.

"Somebody..." Estelle gasped as she slowly sinks into the darkness as well. "Help me…"

"JUVIA!" Gray yelled as he swims through the flood of phantoms over to Juvia.

"GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia screamed as she reaches out her hand. Gray managed to grab her hand but the phantoms are trying to pull the two away from each other.

"Don't let go Juvia!" Gray yelled.

"JUVIA WON'T!" Juvia cried as her eyes welled up in tears.

"Please! Somebody! HELP ME!" Carl cried as he watches his body slowly being consumed. He closes his eyes as tears roll down his cheeks._ 'I…I don't want to join my sister and mother…not yet.'_

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Cornelia laughed, watching in glee as she stands on top of a human tower of dark phantoms. "That's right! Scream as you all sink into the darkness so that I can collect your souls to revive Rarchluka!"

"DARREN!" Judith cried as tears are flooding out of her eyes. "DARREN! HELP US PLEASE!"

Darren helplessly watched as his body is slowly consumed by the phantoms. He could hear the cries and screams of his friends and allies in the distance.

'_Is this it?'_ Darren thought. _'Will my life end like this?'_

"_**DARREN!"**_

Darren widens his eyes. "CC?"

"_**DARREN! OF COURSE IT WON'T END LIKE THIS!"**_

* * *

><p>Both Darren and CC find themselves standing in front of each other in a completely black room.<p>

"No CC." Darren said sadly with a frown. "It's no use."

"So that's it?" CC said hoarsely. "After everything we have been through, you are going to give up, just like that?"

"CC, it's no use! Cornelia is too strong!" Darren shouted. "I…I can't defeat her!"

"Yes you can!" CC snapped. "If you can defeat that captain, Relius and an entire Alahorn army, you can defeat Cornelia too!"

Darren watched as CC lowers her head and tightens her fists. "Besides, your friends, old and new, and everyone living on Earthland…are counting on you."

CC looks back up at Darren with a scowl. "Do it Darren! Do it for your friends! Do it for Noel! Do it for Judith! DO IT FOR ALL OF HUMANITY!"

Darren narrows his eyes and nods his head. "You're right, CC. Thank you."

CC extends a hand at Darren. "Let's do this…together…" Darren walks towards CC and takes it.

"Let's." Darren simply said.

* * *

><p>Darren opens his eyes, revealing his golden demonic orbs. He lets out a yell as he uses all of his strength to pull his arms out of the phantoms' grip on him.<p>

"Huh?" Cornelia arches an eyebrow as she watches Darren's struggle.

"Darren?" Judith said as Darren seems to be pulling himself out of the pool of phantoms. Everybody else sees this as well.

"C'mon Darren." Natsu grits his teeth. "YOU CAN DO IT!"

"We're counting on you Darren!" Lucy added.

"Don't give up Darren!" Erza shouted. Darren yells louder and he managed to transform both of his arms into his demonic arms. Eventually, he managed to pull out his right arm and swings it, slashing some phantoms away that are in front of him.

"Don't you ever let us down, DARREN!" Judith screamed as more tears pool down from her cheeks.

"**I'm coming Judith…"** Darren uttered as he aims his right demonic hand at the phantoms who are pulling his left arm. **"I'M COMING EVERYONE! DEMONIC BLAST!" **He shot a huge blast of demonic energy and wipes out the phantoms on his left. With that, he finally managed to get his arms and upper torso free. Darren yells as he summons his demonic wings and now, he flies himself out of the pool of phantoms.

"NO! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Cornelia yelled in horror. Darren glares at Cornelia and flies over to her.

"CORNELIA!" Darren shouts as he pulls back his fist. When he's near her, he lets out a yell as he punches Cornelia across her left cheek, knocking her out of the human tower and fall into the pool of phantoms.

With Cornelia down, the pool starts to evaporate and everybody present in the room finds themselves having their bodies released as all the phantoms in the room fade away. Everybody all land on the floor safely. Darren lands back on the ground and put away his wings.

A smile appears on Natsu's face. "Way a go, Darren!"

"You did it Darren! You save us!" Wendy said happily.

"Good job Darren. I owe you one." Yuri smirked. Darren smiles back at him.

"Darren…"

Darren turns his head to Judith and sees her lying on the ground with a smile on her face. "Thank you." She said.

Darren walks over to the Krityan and extends out a hand. Judith takes it and Darren pulls her up from the ground.

"You saved us Darren." Judith said smiling.

"Judith…" Darren smiled back. "I-"

Suddenly, Cornelia, now wearing her red mask, appeared behind Darren in a flash and everybody gasped, especially Judith who widens her eyes in horror.

"DARREN!" Judith shouted.

"ARGH!" Darren gasped in pain as Cornelia stabs both of spears through his back and out from his stomach.

"Nice try, Darren." Cornelia smirked. "But you can never defeat me." When she removes her spears, Darren fell to his knees with blood pouring out from his stomach.

"Darren!" Judith cried in horror. She tries to go over to him but Cornelia uses her magic force and pushes Judith away, slamming her to a wall.

"No! Stay away from Darren!" Juvia shouted at Cornelia, but the Duchess ignores her.

Cornelia kicks Darren to the ground face first and places a boot above his head. "You can't defeat me, especially without your companion who has been supplying you your powers! Isn't that right, CC?!" She kneels down and jabs her hand into Darren's wound, causing him to let out an agonizing scream at the top of his lungs.

"NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Jellal shouted.

"DON'T HURT HIM! I BEG OF YOU!" Carl begged with tearstained eyes.

Eventually, Cornelia managed to grab CC and slowly pulls her out of Darren's body while grabbing her throat. CC squealed as Cornelia's grip around her throat was tight.

When Cornelia completely pulls CC out of Darren's body, Darren's head fell back to the ground and lays motionless. Cornelia then tosses CC aside. CC groans as she tries to get up but the Duchess quickly kicks her across her face.

"I gave you a second chance to live. To serve me! But you spat on my face and sided with him." Cornelia said icily.

"Darren…" CC coughed. "Made it realize what I'm supposed to be. To do good for humanity!" CC said to Cornelia.

Cornelia narrows her eyes and grits her teeth. She immediately takes one of her spears and stab at CC's shoulder, causing her to scream in pain.

"And in the end, your ignorance led you to what's happening to you right now." Then, a smirk appears on Cornelia's face. "But don't worry, your soul will finally help me bring my plan to completion. And with you out of the way, the so-called 'Demon Prince' will also be out and nobody can ever stop me!"

Then, CC looks up at Cornelia and smirks. Cornelia arches an eyebrow. "Why are you smiling?" She asked. Then, she gasped. "Wait, you're up to something!"

"You underestimated Darren, Cornelia." CC said to her. "He doesn't me to be the Demon Prince. Because I have stayed in his body for too long, my powers still and forever remain…in his DNA!"

Cornelia turns back to Darren as he slowly rises up from the ground. He turns around and glares at Cornelia with his demonic eyes and the Duchess widens her eyes in horror behind her mask as she sees the wound on Darren's stomach quickly healing itself.

Judith recovers in time to see Darren standing at his feet again. "Darren?" She uttered.

"Let her go." Darren said flatly to Cornelia. Although he is in his demonic form, his voice is no longer distorted.

Cornelia holds up her other spear and prepares to throw it at Darren. However, Darren charges at her in incredible speed which Cornelia could not react. He stabs his right demonic hand through Cornelia's stomach.

Cornelia gasped in pain. "Feel that? That's from Suzaku, Euphemia, me...and everyone else you have killed." Darren said to her. When he removes it, Cornelia staggers back and falls to the ground. As she falls, the mask falls off from her head, revealing the shock and pain expression on Cornelia's face. When she lands on the floor, she coughs out huge amounts of blood from her mouth.

Darren turns to CC and removes the spear from her shoulder.

"Is it over?" CC asked. Everybody else in the room slowly gets up from the floor and they, CC and Darren surround Cornelia who is still lying on the ground.

"It's over Duchess." Lucy said to her with a glare.

"You will surrender yourself to the Magic Council." Jellal said.

Cornelia stares at everybody dumbfounded, but then, a huge grin appears on her face. "Muahahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!" Gray shouted.

"LARSA!" Cornelia shouted. Suddenly, her pet serpent appears in the room and lunges towards the heroes.

"GET BACK!" Darren yelled as everybody moved out of the way while Larsa stays in front of Cornelia, protecting his mistress. Larsa hissed venomously at the heroes.

"You did good…Larsa." Cornelia said. Suddenly, she grabs Larsa by its throat and the serpent hissed in horror and pain.

"What are you doing?!" Mirajane asked.

"You have served me well Larsa. Now, I shall take your soul in return." Cornelia said as she uses her other hand to absorb its soul. Larsa let out one final scream as he vanished.

"You sick witch." Takuto whispered.

Cornelia gets up and everybody watched as she spread out her arms. "AND NOW, MY COLLECTION OF SOULS IS COMPLETE! RARCHLUKA! RISE UP!"

Suddenly, the floor below the heroes start to break and crumble and the ceiling is falling apart as well.

"This palace is going to collapse!" Yuri yelled.

"WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Darren shouted.

"TOO LATE!" Cornelia shouted with glee. Then, the floor below the heroes fall apart and everybody scream as they plummet down to the bottom.

Lucy let out an ear-piercing scream as she falls.

'_Is this the end?' _Lucy thought as she helplessly watched herself and her friends fall to their doom. When she accepts defeat, she closes her eyes. _'Mom…Dad…'_

* * *

><p>"Lucy! Wake up!"<p>

When she heard Natsu's voice, Lucy slowly opens her eyes and when she regains her vision, she sees Natsu and Juvia kneeling above her. She tilts her head to the side to see Darren, Judith, CC, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Jellal, Yuri, Estelle, Carl, Takuto, Mirajane, Flynn, Allelujah and Marie all standing behind them."

"It's good that you are alright, Lucy-san!" Juvia smiled.

"Natsu, Juvia, where are we?" Lucy asked.

"You're in my orb. I saved you and everyone else Lucy." A voice said. Lucy turns her head and widens her eyes at the person who is standing beside her.

"First?" Lucy said, seeing Mavis.

Mavis Vermillion nods her head. Lucy looks around and sees that everybody is safely standing inside Mavis's protective orb. Below them was the Alahorn Palace, slowly collapsing.

"Your Highness…the palace…is gone…" Flynn said in sorrow.

Yuri sadly watched his home slowly crumbling. "I never thought one day, I would watched my home fall in front of my eyes." He said, frowning deeply.

Estelle places her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Let's fly ourselves to safety." Mavis said as she controls her orb and flies away from the palace.

When the orb is now at a safe distance between the palace, Carl turns around and yelled, "Look!"

Everybody turn to the palace and widen their eyes. "Goodness…" Darren uttered. Slowly emerging from where the palace originally was is a giant Wyvern. It has red scales with black stripes, golden eyes, huge wings and a long tail.

It is Rarchluka, former leader and king of the Wyverns.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: And that was part 1 of the Final Fight. The story is not over yet folks! Stay tune and read and review!**


	36. The Final Fight Part 2

**Sovereign: I would like to thank KanaeHitomi, Lightmoon54, sereneskydragonslayer,splitheart1120 and GolddenRoseTanya for reviewing. Thanks guys! Here's the second part of the Final Fight. Will our heroes succeed?**

_**Chapter 35: The Final Fight Part 2**_

Happy, Carla, Wako, Lihua, Elfman, Lisanna, Gajeel, Levy, Ultear, Meredy, Laxus, Lahar and Doranbolt ran over to the spot where Mavis has landed the heroes safely.

After Mavis brings down her protective magical ball, Ultear immediately asked, "Are you guys alright?"

"What is that thing?!" Laxus said, looking alarmed at Rarchluka, whose roar is still ringing throughout the capital.

"Long story." Natsu replied to him.

"What should we do now?" Estelle asked everybody. "There is absolutely no way we can defeat something this...giant-sized!"

Lucy places a hand on Estelle's shoulder and smirked. "What are you talking about? We are Fairy Tail and nothing is too impossible for us to take down!" She said.

Darren turns his head to the nearby civilians who are all running away in horror.

"Yeah, but we must also make sure every civilian in this city is safe from danger." Darren said, turning to the others.

"Right." Erza nods her head. She turns to Laxus, Elfman, Lisanna, Gajeel and Levy. "All of you! You and the others must go around and help evacuate the civilians."

"Yes!" Gajeel said.

"Got it!" Levy added.

"We'll help too." Meredy said as she and Ultear nodded.

"Us too." Lihua and Wako both said in unison as they hold hands together.

"My unit and I shall give aid too." Doranbolt said.

"Thank you Doranbolt. We appreciate your help." Erza said to him. With that, Doranbolt and the others left. Suddenly, Rarchluka roared again, causing everyone to turn around. They watched in awe as the Wyvern opens its mouth and a huge orb of energy appears. Rarchluka then fires a huge blast of energy. Everybody back away and cover their eyes as the blast flew right above them. They turn around and see the blast going towards a nearby mountain. When the blast lands and detonates, the entire mountain and all the trees around its radius are completely destroyed.

This causes a huge gust of wind, blowing towards the capital of Alahorn. Everybody cover their eyes again as the wind blows through their hair and clothes.

This also causes the civilians in the city to panic even more.

"RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" One man yelled as a huge crowd of civilians run through the damaged streets of the capital.

"Agh!" A small boy groaned in pain as he accidentally trips over to the floor.

His mother, who is a few meters away, turns around and cried to her son, "My baby!"

The gust of wind is so strong that it knocks down the top of a tower. The boy looks up and screamed as the debris is falling right on top of him. But suddenly, a giant hand appears above the boy, stopping the debris. The boy looks up and sees that the giant-sized hand belongs to Makarov, who is running towards him.

"Hurry kid! Get up and leave!" Makarov said to the boy. The boy nods his head and runs over to his mother.

When the boy reaches into his mother's arms, the woman thanked Makarov by bowing her head to him before the two leave.

"Everybody!" Elfman yelled as he carries an injured man in his arms. "Follow us and we will escort you out of the city!"

"This way everybody!" Levy yelled, gesturing the civilians to follow her and Doranbolt's knights.

"Move people!" A Rune Knight yelled to the civilians while mounted on his horse.

"Don't worry!" Lisanna, in her Half-Bird form, said with a smile as she carries a girl and a boy up with her feet. "We'll get you two out of here!" The children watched in awe as Lisanna flies them both to safety.

Darren and the others watched as the other Fairy Tail members and Rune Knights are doing a good job evacuating the civilians.

"Well, they're doing a good job. I guess we now won't have to worry." Darren said. Suddenly, everyone gasped as they heard a familiar cackle.

"Duchess…" Natsu narrows his eyes as they all turn back to Rarchluka.

"Rise Rarchluka!" Cornelia yelled in delight as she stands on Rarchluka's back. "Bring total annihilation to the human races and bring in a new Genesis, and I shall be the Creator!"

Rarchluka stretches out his wings and flies out from the hole where Yuri's palace used to be. As he flaps its wing and lifts himself up, Rarchluka lets out another roar before slowly flying above the city.

"Is there a way we can defeat that thing?" Carl asked as everybody backs away.

"There is one way." Lahar said. Everyone gasped as they all turn to the Rune Knight.

"Really Lahar?" Wendy asked.

"According to the ancient archives within the Magic Council, the dragons defeated Rarchluka by seeking help from a spirit." Lahar said, adjusting his glasses. "The spirit uses a spell that instantly kills Rarchluka for good."

"Who is this spirit and what is this spell?" Judith asked.

Lahar turns to the Krityan and said to her, "The Spirit of the Moon." This causes Judith to gasp and widen her eyes. "And the spell she used is the 'Poem of Power'. Only the members of the Krityan Council can recite it."

"My father was a member." Judith said.

"Then the ability to recite that poem is now in your blood. Only you can recite it then, Judith." Lahar said.

"Can you recite it then, Judith?" Allelujah asked.

Judith turns her head around and sees that everyone around her is looking at her with hope and concern.

"I…" Judith said nervously. Then, she let out a cry. "I don't know the poem! I don't know the words at all! I'm really sorry to disappoint you, but even though I'm the most sacred of the Spirit of the Moon, my father died before he could teach me the poem. So I'm sorry. I can't recite it all!" Judith is now trying to fight back her tears. Darren goes over to her and places a hand on her shoulder. The Krityan turns to the Demon Prince.

"Don't worry Judith. We were guided by the Spirit once. I'm sure she will help us again." Darren smiled. Judith grinned upon hearing.

"That's right Judith. Nothing is impossible." Gray smirked and gave a thumbs-up. The others nod their heads in agreement.

Judith, now gaining coincidence, wipes away her tears and said to Darren, "Darren…I don't know if I will ever get another chance but…" Suddenly, Judith plants a kiss into Darren's lips. Darren looks surprised for a moment before he slowly closes his eyes and kisses back.

"It's about time." Estelle giggled in amusement.

Erza smiles happily and wipes a tear from her eye. "Beautiful…" She commented. Lucy looks surprised that the kiss actually touched Erza's heart.

Darren and Judith break away from the kiss and they turn to the Wyvern, who is opening its mouth.

"It's going to fire another blast!" Lahar yelled.

Darren and Judith turn back to each other. "Judith, try to contact to the Spirit of the Moon so that she can teach you the poem to stop Rarchluka." He said.

"Until then," Natsu said as he cracks his knuckles and steps forward bravely. "We will try to stop that thing."

Darren lets out his demonic wings and walks over to the Dragon Slayer. "Are you ready?" Darren asked Natsu.

"Let's stop that thing." Natsu said solemnly. Happy flies over to Natsu and the exceed carries him with his tail.

"Let's go!" Darren said before the two fly over to Rarchluka. As the others stood and watched, Judith closes her eyes and grips her spear tightly.

"Please Spirit, make contact with me." She said. Meanwhile, Rarchluka continues charging its blast. He's almost ready to fire another shot.

"That's it! Destroy this city!" Cornelia yelled at the Wyvern.

"NATSU!" Darren shouted to Natsu as he turns his left arm into a demonic arm. "Let us combine our powers to stop Rarchluka's blast!"

"Got it!" Natsu grins as he starts to breath in.

"FIRE!" Cornelia yelled and Rarchluka fires another devastating blast and it's heading straight towards Natsu and Darren.

"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" Natsu yelled as he breathes out a long line of fire.

"DEMONIC BLAST!" Darren yelled as he aims his demonic hand at the Wyvern and fires a blast of dark energy. The line of fire and the blast of dark energy combine together as they head straight towards Rarchluka's blast. The two blasts meet each other and they stay at a stalemate.

"Come on Darren! HARDER!" Natsu shouted.

"RIGHT!" Darren replied. The two let out their yells as their combined blast grew stronger as they use all of their might. Eventually, the combined blast overwhelmed Rarchluka's blast and its blast is being pushed back.

"WHAT?!" Cornelia shouted, widening her eyes in horror. "THAT…THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

Darren and Natsu's combined blast reached the end of the line, causing it to detonate at Rarchluka's mouth. The Wyvern roared in pain as his mouth is now injured and filled with smoke.

"THEY DID IT!" Juvia cheered as she, Wendy and Mirajane embraced each other happily. The others cheered and pump their fists in the air.

"DARREN! NATSU!" Lucy shouted happily.

Cornelia coughed as she is surrounded by smoke. When the smoke cleared, she looks up and turns around to see Darren and Natsu walking over to her from behind. Happy has just flown away to safety.

"Good luck Natsu!" Happy said as he flies away.

"You are failing Cornelia. Give up!" Darren said sternly.

Cornelia grits her teeth and draws out her spears. "Nothing is over while I'm alive!"

"Then prepare…" Natsu said as he fires up both of his fists. "FOR A WORLD OF HURT!" With that, Darren and Natsu yell as they charge towards Cornelia.

Cornelia yells as well as she charges towards the two. When both sides collide, Darren and Natsu's hands clash against Cornelia's dual spears. Cornelia then jumps away while Darren draws out his katana with his right hand and charges towards the Duchess. He swings his katana vertically at her. Cornelia dodges by rolling to the side, only to get punch by Natsu in the face with his flaming fist. Cornelia is sent stumbling down Rarchluka's back while the two men run down to her.

Meanwhile, Judith is concentrating harder in contacting the Spirit of the Moon.

"Please…please come to me Spirit. Come to me in our time of need!" Judith said. Then, everything in Judith's vision turns from pitch black to bright white.

* * *

><p>Judith gasped as her eyes snap open. She looks around at her surroundings. She sees that she's standing in the middle of a flower field. While everything else is complete white, only the beautiful flowers are visible to her.<p>

"Judith…" A calm voice said.

Judith turns to the front and sees a large bright orb floating down towards her. She could also recognize the voice.

"Spirit of the Moon…" Judith uttered. When the orb floats down to Judith's level, it gave off such brilliant light. Judith squint her eyes a little but later realize that the light did not hurt her eyes.

"Spirit, please teach me the 'Poem of Power'." Judith said to the Spirit.

"I can't." The Spirit said.

"What?" Judith widens her eyes. "Why?"

"Because the Spirit doesn't teach us the 'Poem of Power'. We have to find that ourselves." Another voice said.

Judith turns around and sees two Krityans. One of them was her father. The other was Daniel.

"Father…Daniel…" She said.

"We Krityans were created by God for a reason. Because we are created to be the protectors of humanity." Daniel explained. "But to be protectors of humanity, we must first learn what true power is. That is the only way we will know the words of the 'Poem of Power' the Spirit of the Moon used generations ago."

"I discover what true power is on my own. That is how I became the Leader of the Krityans in the first place, Judith." Her father said.

"So I have to discover what true power is first." Judith said.

"Exactly." The Spirit spoke, causing Judith to turn back to it. "So now Judith, may I ask you, based on your experiences, what _is _true power?"

Judith turns silent for a moment. For the next few minutes…she just stood in silence…remembering how her adventure all began…

* * *

><p>She painfully remembers the time she ran up to the meeting room of the collapsing and burning Krityan Council building in Kalafina where she finds her father trapped under the debris.<p>

"_Father!" Judith cried in horror as she runs over to him._

"**When I was only nine, I lost my father and many other people closed to me…"**

_Her father then holds up the spear that he's holding in his hand the whole time. "You are the leader of our people now. Only you can keep our race alive now. The Krityan culture and people must live on!"_

"_Father…I…"_

"_Take it…"_

_Judith turns her head away and tries to fight back her tears. She hates herself for not being strong enough to save her father. But she knows her father is right. All she can do is escape. Eventually, she takes the spear from her father._

"_Now go…" Her father said to her._

_Judith bowed down to him before turning around and leave the building before it collapses._

"_I love you…my daughter…" Those are her father's last words before the ceiling above collapses onto him._

"**Back then, I hated myself for not being able to save my father…I wasn't strong enough…"**

She now painfully remembers the time when she first arrived on Myorzo Island. Judith just stood silently with a frown on her face and holding the spear in her hand as she watched the surviving Krityans using whatever wood they could find to build their new homes on the island.

_A female Krityan walks over to the young leader and kneels down to her level. "Cheer up Judith. Everything is going to be fine." The female Krityan assured to her softly._

_"No." Judith replied as she lowers her head sadly. "It won't…"_

"**Even when we moved into our new home, I was still distraught over my father's death and I still really didn't know what to do next even when I have become leader. All I could do…is just lead my people…and nothing more…"**

Now, she remembers the time when Kaname and the Black Suns enter her village and threaten to kill Brandon and Penelope if she doesn't cooperate.

"**And ten years later, when that dark guild came to my village and threatens to kill Brandon and Penelope, I was so scared…powerless…just like a decade ago…"**

She now remembers the time she places her hand on the lacrima, freeing Darren from his crystal prison.

"**But then shortly after, you brought to him…the Demon Prince…Darren…"**

She now remembers when Darren saved her from Kaname by killing him and the two escaped the undead-infested tomb by fighting together.

"**He saved me…and I even started fighting alongside with him…"**

The Krityans happily bid farewell to her and Darren before the two leave the village and begin their adventure.

"**We set off together…"**

She now remembers the times when Darren and Judith walk through the town together and meeting Carl, Estelle and Jellal for the first time.

"**I not only explore a new world but also made new friends along the way…"**

Judith stood in horror as she watched Darren, in his demonic form, fighting Natsu in the air.

"**Sadness and depression would strike me again along the way…"**

At the ruined palace in Kalafina, Judith took Darren's hand and gave him her words of forgiveness. Darren's eyes turn watery and she stood up and gave him an embrace.

"**But I quickly forgive and forget…because he is still the closest person I ever had…"**

She now remembers the times when she and everyone else are in Spinoza's mansion, fighting Relius' husks, before fighting Relius himself in the laboratory to save Carl.

"**And with the help of all of my companions, we won another battle…"**

She stood in silence as she watched Darren summoning his spiritual army and turning the tide in the battle of Alahorn.

**"And another battle…"**

She watched as Darren stabs Cornelia through her stomach with his demonic arm.

**"And another…"**

* * *

><p>A smile now appears on her face. She slowly opens her eyes and looks up at the Spirit. "Of course. I finally remember why I've become a stronger person than I was ten years ago."<p>

"And why is that?" The Spirit asked.

"Because now…I'm not alone anymore..." Judith said. "I have friends."

She turns her head to see the nine-year-old version of herself standing in the distance. Her younger self smiled at her before she magically turns into her adult self. Then, all of her friends, Darren, Carl, Estelle, Jellal, Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Juvia, Happy, Carla, Mirajane, Takuto, Yuri, Wako, Lihua and CC magically appeared behind her.

"I now know what true power is…" Judith said before turning back to the Spirit. "_Friendship_…is true power."

"And yes…you are right…" The Spirit replied. Judith turns around to see her father and Daniel smiling at her.

"Congratulations my daughter." Her father said, smiling happily. "You are now a true leader of our people."

Judith smiled back at her father and Daniel. "Thank you…all of you…"

With that, everything goes white again…

* * *

><p>"JUDITH!" Lucy shouted before she pushes her out of the way before Rarchluka landed on the ground where the Krityan was originally standing.<p>

Lucy and Judith both look up at each other with the former giving a smirk. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Judith smiled back. "Yes Lucy. I am." Just then, Mirajane, in her demon form, landed behind Lucy and Judith and she grabbed the two with her arms.

"Hang on!" Mirajane said before flying away with the two in her arms. She flew them safely away from the Wyvern who has landed on the capital.

Back on top of Rarchluka's back, Darren and Natsu are both breathing heavily as Cornelia staggers up to her feet. Her face is covered in bruises and blood is flowing down the side of her head. "If I can't defeat you Darren…then I shall kill the one closest to you!" Cornelia shouted. She turns her head and points at Mirajane who is flying away with Lucy and Judith. "RARCHLUKA! KILL THAT KRITYAN!"

"JUDITH!" Darren shouted in horror. "LOOK OUT!"

Rarchluka turns its head and prepares to fire another deadly blast.

Judith turns her head to the Wyvern with a determined look on her face. "Don't worry Darren…I'm not afraid…not anymore." She said. She turns to Mirajane and said to her, "Put me down."

"Judith?" Lucy and Mirajane both said, widening their eyes.

"Just put me down." Judith said solemnly. Mirajane stayed silent for a moment before giving a nod. She flew back down to the ground and puts Judith down. "Now get Lucy out of here Mirajane."

"No! Judith! You'll get killed!" Lucy cried. Judith places a hand on Lucy's shoulder and gave her an assuring smile. Lucy stared at her in confusion.

"It's okay Lucy. I'll be fine." She said. Mirajane then flew off with Lucy.

"Judith! What the hell are you doing?! GET OUT OF HERE!" Darren shouted in horror.

Judith turns around and faces Rarchluka with a fierce glare.

"DIE KRITYAN!" Cornelia shouted. With that, Rarchluka finished charging its orb of energy, it fires a blast and heads straight towards Judith!

But before the blast reaches the Krityan, Judith closes her eyes and starts chanting.

"_Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze__"_

Suddenly, the giant magic barrier appears in front of Judith and blocks Rarchluka's blast.

"WHAT?!" Cornelia shouted in disbelief.

"Judith…" Darren uttered as he and Natsu both watched awestruck.

"_Croa riou ze tue riou rei neu riou ze"_

As she continues chanting, her hair bun is untied and her elegant long blue hair is now blowing through the wind freely. Her other companions stand behind and also watch in awe.

"What is she saying?" Lucy said.

"It sounds…beautiful…" Estelle added.

"Those words…" Lahar uttered. "It's the 'Poem of Power'!"

"_Va rei ze tue neu tue riou tue croa__…__Riou rei croa riou ze rei va ze rei"_

Suddenly, a magical circle appears below Judith. This causes Rarchluka to panic in fear and horror.

"NO! STOP IT! YOU'RE SCARING IT!" Cornelia screamed.

"Let's get out of here." Darren said as he summons his demonic wings.

"Right." Natsu nods his head as Happy flies over to him and grabs him with his tail. The two then flew off to safety as Judith continues chanting.

"_Va neu va rei va neu va ze rei__…__Croa riou croa neu tue rei croa riou ze rei va__…__Rei va neu croa tue rei rei"_

Judith opens her eyes and the circle below her becomes a tall beam of light, lightening the darkness in the sky. Everybody present in the city, including the civilians watched in awe and marvel at its brilliance.

"This light…" Romeo uttered.

"It's beautiful…" Levy added.

"Magnificent…" Bisca said as it brought tears to her and her husband Alzack. Alzack wraps an arm around her as they watched.

"_Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze__…__Croa riou ze tue riou rei neu riou ze…" _As Judith continues chanting, the light glows brighter and Rarchluka backs away from it.

"SHUT UP!" Cornelia said as she draws out a spear and aims at Judith. "JUST SHUT UP!" With that, she angrily threw the spear at Judith. But the light was so bright and brilliant that the spear vanishes before it could reach Judith.

"NO! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! THIS…ISN'T…HAPPENING!" Cornelia screamed in horror as she pulls her hair, losing control of herself.

"_Va rei ze tue neu tue riou tue croa__…__Riou rei croa riou ze rei va ze rei…"_

Eventually, the light was too bright for rarchluka and the Wyvern screamed as the heat is burning its scales and body.

"_Va neu va rei va neu va ze rei__…__Croa riou croa neu tue rei croa riou ze rei va__…__Rei va neu croa tue rei rei"_

Rarchluka lets out one final roar before the light completely consumes him and destroying him for good.

"NOOOO!" Cornelia yelled as she plummets through the air when Rarchluka disappears.

She extends out her hand as she falls. "NO! This can't be the end! I have yet to achieve my goal!" Then, both Darren and Natsu (held by Happy) come flying towards her.

Cornelia growls and narrows her eyes angrily at the both of them. "Damn you…DAMN YOU! DARREN AND FAIRY TAIL!"

Happy lets go of Natsu while Darren deactivates his demonic wings. Both of them plummet towards Cornelia. "THIS IS THE END!" Both of them yelled in unison as Darren draws out his katana while Natsu fires up his fist.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Cornelia lets out one final yell of despair before both Darren and Natsu deliver the final blow.

When the three landed on the ground, there was a huge thud. When the smoke is cleared, Cornelia was lying on the ground dead with her eyes rolled back and her face is burned by Natsu's punch. Both Darren and Natsu are standing on top of her with Darren's katana stabbed into her chest.

The Crimson Duchess...is finally dead.

And the battle…is finally over.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: And at last, the battle is over!**

**Darren, Judith, Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Jellal, etc. :HOORAY!**

**Lucy: Wow, it's been a long journey but I'm glad it's finally over.**

**Sovereign: Yup! But wait! The story isn't over! There is still one more chapter for an epilogue!**

**Darren and Natsu: Awesomesauce!**

**Sovereign: So everyone, stay tune for it and read and review!**


	37. The Duchess' Punishment

**Sovereign: Hey guys, remember in the last chapter I said the next one will be the last? Well, I realized I was wrong. There is still one more chapter before the final one but don't worry, this one will be short. XD**

**I would like to thank KanaeHitomi, splitheart1120, sereneskydragonslayer and Lightmoon54 for reviewing!**

_**Chapter 36: The Duchess' punishment**_

Cornelia opens her eyes and looks around. She is currently standing in the middle of a completely white room.

"Where am I?" Cornelia asked. Her voice echoed throughout the room as she spoke.

"Ah, it looks like the human was right."

Cornelia gasped and turns around to see a girl dressed in a black Lolita dress with her long blonde hair tied to two ponytails standing behind with a smirk on her face.

"Wh-who…who are you?" Cornelia asked.

"I'm Rachel Alucard, the soul keeper. And I am here to pass judgment on you." Rachel said, pointing a finger at her. "The human Darren Leong, came here to the afterlife to make a trade with me and I'm glad he is able to fulfill his end of the bargain."

Cornelia watched as Rachel rises up her hand and suddenly, a large pair of black doors appeared behind her. Cornelia widens her eyes in horror as the doors open up, revealing Hell on the other side.

"While good souls go to Heaven, bad souls who have committed crimes shall go to Hell. And you…are one of those bad souls." Rachel takes out a book and opens it. "And now, it's time for you to face eternal punishment."

Cornelia grits her teeth and yelled, "You are not taking me away!" She extends out her hands to magically summon her spears, but to her shock, they didn't appear. She gasped. "Wh-wh-wh-why?"

"Why? Isn't it obvious?" Rachel smirked. "Because you are already dead." She now begins to read the contents in her book. "Cornelia Corningston AKA The Crimson Duchess…for your crimes in murdering innocent humans, poisoning humans, stealing souls from their corpses and resurrection of the Wyvern King Rarchluka. I sentenced you…" She looks up at Cornelia with a cold dark glare. "TO DEATH!"

Then, several long black arms extend out of the doors of Hell and grabs Cornelia by her arms and legs. "NO!" Cornelia cried. "PLEASE! HAVE MERCY! HAVE MERCY ON ME!"

Rachel swifts her eyes to Cornelia as she is slowly dragged towards Hell. "Tell me Cornelia, did you give mercy to anyone before killing them in cold blood?"

"NO! PLEASE!" Cornelia screamed as she struggled to get out of the arms' grips but they are to strong and tight. "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING! HEEEEELLLLPPPPP MEEEEEE!"

Cornelia lets out one final yell of agony and despair before the doors close itself and disappears.

Rachel closes her book and bows her head. "Farewell, Crimson Duchess." She said before a large black armchair magically appears behind her. The book in her hand disappears and Rachel sits down to extend out her other hand, magically summon a cup of Earl Grey Tea. She takes a sip of her tea and quietly sat there as the Crimson Duchess faces her eternal punishment.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Sovereign: Told you it's short. XD Anyways, the final chapter/epilogue will be uploaded on New Year's Day. Speaking about that, since this is my last chapter of 2012, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and see you all in 2013! :D**


	38. Epilogue

**Sovereign: Well, this is it guys. After one year, this story has reached it's final chapter. Enjoy everyone!**

_**Chapter 37: Epilogue**_

The next morning, the sun rose over the now heavily damaged capital city. Darren, his companions, all members of Fairy Tail, the Krityans, the Rune Knights and all the citizens of Alahorn gathered in front of where the now-destroyed palace was originally located to witness a very important ceremony.

Yuri Lowell walks up to the wooden stage and sat down on his now-deceased father's throne. His mother was standing next to him with the king's crown in her hands.

"With the passing of our former King, I now present the crown and his position to his heir…" His mother said before going behind the throne and holds the crown above her son's head. "People of Alahorn, by the power bestowed in me, I now crowned Prince Yuri Lowell, your new king of Alahorn."

The Queen then gently places the crown on top of Yuri's head. Yuri stands up from his throne and everybody bowed down and kneel before him.

"At ease, people." Yuri said to everyone. When everyone got back up, Yuri continued, "As you can see, a huge portion of our once-glorious city is now in ruins. But never fear people for it can be rebuilt. And when the rebuilding is complete, I promise you all that I will bring honor and glory back to this kingdom, but not through violence and dictatorship. I shall bring it back through peace, prosperity and democracy."

Everybody present in the city applauded to their new King and the citizens of Alahorn chanted happily.

"Long Live King Yuri! Long Live King Yuri! Long Live King Yuri!"

Yuri then raises his hand, gesturing everybody to quiet down. He turns his head to Estelle who is standing at the distance. "Now, my first official act as your new King is to peacefully dissolve the annexation of Kingdom of Temza. Everyone, may I present you, the Queen of Temza, Estellise Sidos Heurassein to sign the contract of independence with me."

Everybody claps as Estelle walks over to Yuri.

"Go Estelle!" Carl shouted happily.

Estelle and Yuri bowed to each other before Flynn walks over and presents a folder to the two monarchs. Flynn opens the folder, revealing the contract of independence and a pen. Estelle takes the pen first and signs the contract. She then passes it to Yuri who then signs the contract as well. Flynn closes the folder and Yuri extends a hand out to Estelle.

"Congratulations Estelle. Your kingdom is freed." Yuri said.

"Thank you, Yuri." Estelle smiled, her eyes becoming teary. She shakes Yuri's hand and everybody applauded again. At last, after a decade of annexation, the Kingdom of Temza is freed again.

Judith is also feeling tears in her eyes as her home is freed again. Darren, who is next to her, pats Judith's back to comfort her. Allelujah, Carl, Marie, the Krityans and the Temzan refugees all smiled as well. Finally, they have a home to return to again.

"And now, I have something to say." Estelle said to everyone. This surprised Darren, Judith and the other former Temza citizens.

"To be honest, I didn't like Alahorn at first. I always see this kingdom as my enemy and the people who destroyed my home and family. But, throughout my journey, I soon realized that Alahorn isn't to be hated, but to be pitied. Even your enemies deserve sympathy in their times of struggle." Estelle turns to Yuri with a smile. "And I even learn to trust and love the man whom I used to see as my enemy." Yuri smiled back as he gave a solemn nod. Estelle turns back to everyone. "Now, the Kingdom of Alahorn is badly affected due to the huge damage to their capital city. So, for my first official act as the Queen of Temza, I would like to propose the _United Kingdom of Temhorn_. Temza and Alahorn will still be independent kingdoms but we shall form together as one sovereign nation so that we can help rebuild our diplomatic relations and the damages that reigned upon both of our kingdoms over the decade."

There was a pause for a moment, but then smiles appear on Darren, Judith, Carl, Allelujah, Marie and all the Temzan and Alahornian citizens. They all clap their hands and applauded in approval of Estelle's proposal. Yuri claps his hands as well, liking the idea too.

"Thank you Queen Estelle! Long Live Queen Estelle!" Both Temzan and Alahornian citizens chanted in unison.

Estelle then raises her hand to gesture everybody to quiet down as she has another official act to make.

"My second official act as Queen of Temza is also due to the formation of the United Kingdom of Temhorn…" She turns to Yuri with a warm smile. "I would like to propose my marriage to King Yuri Lowell of Alahorn."

Yuri widens his eyes in surprise for a few seconds, before a smile appears on his face. "Would you…marry me Estelle?"

"Yes…I do…" Estelle uttered as her eyes are filled with tears. With that, the two monarchs gave each other a loving kiss, causing the entire city to be erupted with cheers.

With the marriage of these two monarchs, a new era for both Temza and Alahorn has begun…

* * *

><p>Later that day, the Rune Knights prepared to leave and return to the Magic Council. Erza, Wendy, Jellal, Judith and Darren watched as Doranbolt and Lahar mount on their horses.<p>

"So, do you two think chairman Doma would like the idea that you disobeyed his orders?" Erza asked Doranbolt and Lahar.

"Meh, of course not." Doranbolt shrugged. "But I'm sure Lahar and I will definitely find a way to cover it up. Right?" He asked Lahar with a smirk.

"Exactly." Lahar said calmly as he adjusts his glasses.

"So…" Jellal said as a frown appears on his face. "Now that you two found out that we are still alive, does this mean Darren and I have to come with you two to surrender ourselves to the Magic Council?"

"Please you two, don't take Darren away." Judith pleaded to the two captains as she held onto Darren's arm tightly. "We wouldn't have won this battle if it weren't for him!"

"I'm sorry everyone." Lahar said. "But orders are orders. We must eliminate the Demon Prince in sight and bring Jellal back for execution."

Tears now form in the women's eyes. Judith embraced Darren, who hugged her back with his eyes filling up in tears as well. Erza and Wendy both sadly embraced Jellal as well, knowing that he will be taken away from them for another time.

Then, Lahar spoke up with a rare smile on his face. "But…we can pretend that we never met you two."

Everyone gasped in surprise for a moment before smiles appear on all of their faces. Erza and Wendy embraced Jellal again, this time with smiles on their faces. Judith and Darren both hug each other, knowing the fact that they will never be separated.

"Besides Jellal, you are already dead right?" Doranbolt asked Jellal.

"Yes." Jellal chuckled as he strokes Erza's hair. "I already am."

"Thank you very much, Doranbolt and Lahar." Darren said to the two captains.

"No Darren." Lahar shook his head. "We should be the ones who should be thanking you. Thank you for stopping Alahorn from invading all of Earthland."

"I hope we will meet again." Doranbolt said to Wendy.

"I look forward to it!" Wendy smiled. With that, Doranbolt and Lahar ride their horses away with their units following them from behind.

* * *

><p>For the next seven days, both the kingdoms of Temza and Alahorn (Now the United Kingdom of Temhorn) went through their first phase of rebuilding and restoration. The Temzans who are formerly refugees living within Alahorn have returned home to their kingdom, many of them returning to Kalafina to help rebuild the capital. Because the Temzan royal palace doesn't suffer heavy damage as the one in Alahorn, both Estelle and Yuri now reside the palace where their soldiers are helping each other to rebuild their home.<p>

"I'm happy to let you know that restorations to the villages of Frankston and Finsley are also on the way." Flynn, now dressed in his new commandant uniform which was originally belonged to the now-condemned Guradana, said to the two monarchs.

"Thank you for the news, Flynn." Estelle smiled.

"You're welcome, Queen Estelle." Flynn said with a salute.

"Flynn, how many times do I have to tell you? Just call us Yuri and Estelle." Yuri said, placing a hand on the side of his hip.

"Right sorry, your Majesty." Flynn said apologetically. Yuri groaned while Estelle just chuckled. Flynn bows down in repest before turning around to make his leave.

"Let's go, Majors Sodia and Tsuna Sawada." Flynn said to his two new second-in-commands.

"Yes Commandant!" Sodia and Tsuna, now dressed in their Major uniforms, both said in unison before the two follow him out of the room.

Estelle and Yuri then walk over to the balcony and watched both Temzans and Alahornians working together to rebuild the city.

"I never thought one day I would watch my people be working alongside with Alahornians." Estelle said. Yuri wraps an arm around her body.

"I'm sure our people will go along together just fine." Yuri said.

Estelle lets out a sigh and said, "I sure am going to miss Carl. But at least it's good to know…that he has a new family."

"Yes. Indeed." Yuri said in agreement.

* * *

><p>"Work harder everyone! Let's help make this village a better place for these people to live in!" Erza, now dressed in her construction worker outfit, yelled through a megaphone.<p>

"AYE!" The other Fairy Tail members yelled in unison as they go around helping to upgrade the village of Brades. After the battle of Alahorn, Darren and Judith return back to Brades where they tell the wonderful news to the Krityans that Temza has been restored. Darren also revealed to them that he was the Demon Prince all along. But the Krityans forgive him and thank him for saving Earthland and restoring Temza.

But that wasn't all they did. Darren and Judith brought back all the Male Krityans to the village, much to the female Krityans' happiness and delight. They also brought along Fairy Tail with them to help turn their village to a better home for the Krityans for generations to come.

Carl, Jellal, Ultear, Meredy, Takuto, Wako and Lihua are among them. All seven as well as Darren and Judith have been recently given Fairy Tail member stamps from Makarov, making them all new additions to the guild and family. Takuto and Wako even adopted Lihua as their daughter. Lihua will never be alone anymore. Both Takuto and Wako also plan to open up their own clinic within the Fairy Tail building when they arrive at their new home. Wendy has already plan to work as their employee.

Allelujah, Marie and their children even come to the village to help upgrade the village.

Carl walks over to Erza and said, "Erza, Meredy and I are done with the leaf-raking."

"Good. Now help Lisanna and Warren with building the new fountain."

Carl smiles and nods his head. "Got it!" He said. Before he could turn around, Erza grabs his wrist. "Erza?" He said confused.

"Carl…" Erza smiled at him. "I know you are still upset over your family's deaths but whatever happens, you're with us now and we will take care of you."

Carl smiled at her again. "Yes. Thank you." The two then gave each other a hug.

"Elfman! Pass us some more nails!" Bickslow yelled from the top. He, Laxus, Freed and Evergreen are busy building a stronger and stable wooden house.

"Understood!" Elfman yelled in response.

Lucy, Natsu, Happy, Allelujah and Marie are working at a temporary food stall where they are busy serving food to the villagers. Many Krityans are queuing up to get their food.

"Here you go! Hope you enjoy it!" Lucy smiled as she hands Penelope a loaf of bread with strawberry jam.

"Thank you!" Penelope said before walking away with her food.

"It sure is great to be helping these people out, isn't it Luigi?" Natsu smiled.

"Sure is." Lucy nods her head. But her smile quickly disappears as she said, "And it's Lucy."

"Sorry, haha." Natsu said.

"Lucy and natsu now like each oth-" Happy gets cut off when Lucy kicks him away in annoyance.

"Less talk and more work!" Marie said as she passes Natsu a bowl of vegetable soup.

"Right, sorry!" Natsu said to her as he takes the bowl.

Gray is stacking up some bricks with cement. "Need help, Gray-sama?"

Gray turns his head and sees Juvia smiling at him while holding a bucket of bricks. Gray smirked and said, "I sure do."

Juvia kneels down and the two help each other. "Juvia, I really do appreciate your help." Gray said to her.

"Thanks." Juvia blushed. Unaware to the two, both Darren and Judith are standing at the distance watching them.

"I'm sure these two will get along together just fine." Darren smiled.

"Yup. And I can tell Gray will fall in love with Juvia." Judith said.

"Huh? Really?" Darren smirked at her.

"Oh, just you wait. I'm sure the two will." Judith winked.

"Darren, have you seen CC?" Erza asked as she walks over to him.

"Oh, she's in Finsley right now." Darren smiled.

"Huh? Why?" Erza asked confused.

"Remember Spinoza? Turns out he's still alive. He was so happy that Temza's independence has been restored that he quickly returned home to his mansion in Finsley. He even wrote a letter to me." Darren said.

"And what does it say?"

"It says he knows a formula which can help me turn back into a normal human being and he gave me an offer." Darren said to her. "But I rejected it."

"What? Why?"

"Because I don't care if I'm a monster or not anymore." Darren turns to Judith and takes her hand. "I now have new friends and a new home."

Erza smiled upon hearing. "That's good."

"So I gave the offer to CC instead." Darren said, turning back to Erza. "She's now in Finsley where Spinoza is turning her back into a normal human being. When she does, she no longer has to live in my blood and body anymore. She also says that when her transformation is complete, she will come to Magnolia and wish to join Fairy Tail as well."

"That's great!" Erza said. "Another welcomed addition to our guild!"

* * *

><p>A few hours later, the upgrading is complete. Many new houses and structures have been built in Brades and it has officially turned from a small village into a town.<p>

Everybody are now gathered around the town square to watch a special ceremony. Darren is sitting on a throne with a Krityan walking over to him with a crown in his hands. Allelujah, Marie and their children are standing next to him to watch the ceremony up close.

"We thank you for upgrading our beautiful home and saving our race and our home. So as thanks for all of us, we want you to be our new King and leader, Darren Leong." The Krityan places the crown onto Darren's head. Darren bowed his head and everybody applauded.

"Way a go Darren!" Gray shouted. Lucy whistled.

"Thank you all of you." Darren said to everyone. "However…" He takes the crown off from his head. "I cannot accept this title." Everybody look at him puzzled. "Because I was already a leader to the Kirtyans before I was given this title. I believed I have led the Krityans far enough by bringing victory against our enemy and restoration of their home. So I think it's time for the Krityans to have a new leader." He gets up from his throne and walks over to Allelujah.

"This man here is the kindest man of all of Earthland so helped the Krityans and the Temzan refugees during their time of need. So I believe this man will make the perfect successor. People of Brades, I present you your new King and leader, Allelujah Haptism."

With that, Darren places the crown on Allelujah's head and everybody applauded.

Allelujah couldn't help but smile at Darren. "Thank you." He said to him. Darren gave him a nod. Marie and his children then embraced him happily.

"Congratulations, my love." Marie smiled. Allelujah hugs back his dear wife and children for a moment, before letting go of them and talk to the people.

"People of Brades, I promise to be a good King and leader and bring further happiness to all of you!" Allelujah said. The Krityans cheered and chanted.

"Long Live King Allelujah! Long Live King Allelujah!"

Darren gets off the stage and Judith gave him a hug. "I'm so proud of you Darren." Judith whispered to him.

Darren hugs Judith back and kisses her cheek. The two then break off the hug and Lucy, Natsu and Makarov walk over to Darren.

"So what now?" Natsu asked Darren with a smirk.

"Let's go home." Darren said to him.

"Agreed!" Makarov smiled.

* * *

><p>Upon returning to Fairy Tail, everybody are celebrating for another successful mission and partying like there is no tomorrow. Cana, Macao and Elfman are having a drinking contest, Erza is enjoying her usual strawberry cake, Natsu and Gray gets into an argument again and the others are chatting and enjoying their meals. Yup, nothing has changed for Fairy Tail as always.<p>

Darren and Judith just stood at the entrance looking dumbfounded at this.

"So, is this really how you guys enjoy every successful mission?" Darren asked Mirajane who is standing next to them.

"Oh don't worry guys. You two will get used to it." Mirajane smiled.

"I don't know Darren. I might actually like it." A voice said. Darren and Judith turn around to see CC walking into the building.

"CC! You have come to become a Fairy Tail member right?" Mira asked with a smile.

"I sure do." CC said, smiling back.

Darren walks over to her and said, "So CC, how does it feel becoming a complete human again?"

"It feels…nostalgic." CC smirked. "Thanks Darren."

"You're welcome." Darren said as he folds his arms. "I'm sure the two of us will still get along together just fine."

"You said it." CC chuckled. Suddenly, a table comes flying over to the green-haired woman.

"LOOK OUT!" Lucy cried. But CC easily raises her hand and catches it. Everybody else is amazed by her strength.

"So…who wants to be the next to catch it?" CC smirks before throwing the table over to Elfman. Elfman growls as he stands up and easily grabs the table.

"BAR FIGHT!" Elfman yelled.

"AWESOME!" Natsu yelled as he and Gray are punching and kicking each other as they always do. "Take this Ice Breath!"

"No, take this! Fire Breather!" Gray yelled before punching him square in the nose. Natsu growls and the two continue to exchange nicknames as they punch each other.

"Human Popsicle!"

"Human Ash!"

"Ice Skull!"

"Flame Brain!"

At the counter, Wako looks very concerned while Erza continues eating her cake. "Erza! Do something!" Wako, dressed in a bartender outfit, said to the crimson-haired woman.

"Meh. This happens all the time that I now grew sick and tired of trying to stop it all the time." Erza yelled. Suddenly, Gajeel grabs Freed and tosses him over to Erza who knocks her off of her seat. Wako looks shocked by this.

Erza shoves Freed off of her and gasped that her beloved strawberry cake is on lying on the ground in pieces. "My cake…" She sobbed. Then her sad expression quickly fades away as she gets up, her body now fuming in anger. "COME AND TASTE MY BLADES!" She shouted as she runs towards the other members and summons her swords.

"GRAY! I'LL FIGHT WITH YOU!" Juvia shouted as she is about to take off her dress but Gray stops her by yelling at her.

"JUVIA! WHAT IN MAVIS ARE YOU DOING?"

"Don't start the fight without me!" Takuto yelled as he jumps in the air, takes out his star swords and gets into the fight as well.

As the fight goes on, Darren, Judith and CC go over to where Lucy, Carl, Wendy, Lihua, Levy, Ultear, Meredy and Jellal are sitting.

"Now I know what Erza usually gets herself into every night." Jellal said. Ultear and Meredy nod their heads in agreement.

Lucy giggled. "This is why I love Fairy Tail." Darren and Judith turns to her in confusion. "No matter what kind of fight we get into, we will always stay as one big happy family."

Darren and Judith turn to each other and they simply laughed along with CC, Lucy, Carl, Wendy, Levy, Jellal, Meredy and Ultear.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Darren walks up to the top of the Fairy Tail building. He smiles as he looks up to the sky. "Hey Noel…I finally found what I needed. A new home…and new friends…and a new lover."<p>

He closes his eyes and a tear rolls down his cheek. "Thank you…Noel…"

Then, Judith walks over to Darren from behind. Darren smiles as he turns to her and the two exchanged each other another kiss. When they broke the kiss, Natsu and Lucy, both holding hands together walk over to them as well. Both Darren and Natsu smile at each other before the four look back up at the sky.

Just then, Erza, Jellal, Gray, Juvia, Mirajane, Wendy, Happy, Charle, Takuto, Wako, Carl, CC, and Lihua appeared behind the four and all they look up at the sky as well.

Whatever danger there is, they will always be there.

They are _Fairy Tail_.

**THE END**

**Sovereign: Wow. After one year, this story is officially complete!**

**Darren, Judith, Fairy Tail, etc.: HOORAY!**

**Sovereign: So I know what you guys are thinking, what's going to happen now that this story is complete?**

**Wendy: *Sadness* Yes, what's going to happen now?**

**Sovereign: Well, good news. I've already planned to write several OVA oneshots which take place after the events of this story as well as an Alice in Wonderland parody!**

**Everyone: AWESOME!**

**Sovereign: Yup! But I would also like to go back and focus on writing **_**My Boyfriend is a Pop Star**_** and **_**Zombie Paradise 3**_**. So expect more Fairy Tail stories from me in the New Year!**

**I would like to thank everyone for following me throughout the course of this story. Without all of your support, reviews, faves and alerts, I wouldn't be able to continue writing this story til the very end! I would also like to wish everyone a good year ahead and may their resolutions come true! And with that, it's time for me to sign out. So until next time…**

**Everyone: READ AND REVIEW!**


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